LOS ANGELES—Naré Mkrtchyan describes her film, The Other Side of Home, as “a universal story of identity, denial, and how the experience of genocide creates a ripple effect for future generations on both sides.”
In 2015, a Turkish woman named Maya discovers that her great grandmother was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. As Maya wrestles with this new reality, she comes to embody the conflict that remains unresolved between the two peoples. She has two conflicting identities: one that suffers and the other that denies the suffering and its causes. The Other Side of Home is a documentary that follows Maya as she goes to Armenia to take part in the 100th commemoration of the Genocide and to explore her new-found roots.
The USC Institute of Armenian Studies is co-hosting the screening at 7:30pm on September 1st with the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the USC Shoah Foundation. The 40-minute film will be followed by a conversation with the film director Nare Mkrtchyan and USC Institute of Armenian Studies Fellow, filmmaker Eric Nazarian.
Naré Mkrtchyan is a filmmaker living in Los Angeles, CA. She graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Her passion is telling unique human stories that connect people and move beyond the boundaries of nationality, gender, and religion.
Born in Armenia and raised in Los Angeles, Eric Nazarian is also a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He has lectured on the origins of cinema and the Armenian Genocide on campuses across the U.S. and Europe. Nazarian is currently working on the film adaptation of The Sandcastle Girls, Chris Bohjalian’s critically acclaimed bestselling novel. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America.
Salpi Ghazarian, the director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, says, “After the Genocide, most of the Armenian survivors who stayed in Turkey took on new identities – sometimes voluntarily, often not. These were the hidden Armenians who knew who they were. But as the genocide generation disappears, the third and fourth generations who are slowly discovering their roots are shocked and unprepared for their new identity. This film adds to the conversation about this difficult transition.”
This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please make a reservation at: cinema.usc.edu/events. A reception will be hosted immediately following the film discussion.
