Editor

‘SEARCHING’
A Film Produced by Two Armenians Hits Theaters August 24

 
Sevak “Sev” Ohanian, a native Los Angeles filmmaker who had produced and self-distributed My Big Fat Armenian Family, a no-budget indie feature film that became extremely popular with Armenian audiences around the world, has co-written and produced a film called ‘Searching’, which will be in theaters nationally and internationally on August 24, 2018.  He produced the film with his producing partner Natalie Qasabian.
 
Sevak has attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA program.  Since graduating in 2012, he has been a producer on 13 feature films. 4 of which have been Sundance Film Festival Official Selections. Natalie graduated from USC also in 2014.
 
Their film ‘Searching’ had its world premiere at Sundance 2018 where it was picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and won the NEXT Audience Award. Searching which stars John Cho and Debra Messing, was also awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Award, and Sevak received the Sundance Institute / Amazon Studios Producer Award.
 
Most importantly, ‘Searching’ features a supporting performance by Arpa International Film Festival founder Sylvia Minassian!
 
In 2013, Sevak was awarded the “Breakthrough Filmmaker Award” by Arpa International Film Festival. Natalie Qasabian will receive the “Rising Star Award” at this year’s festival in November.
 
Arpa International Film Festival is proud to support all independent filmmakers.
 
“Searching’ will be in the following theaters in Los Angeles on August 24:
 

AMC Century City 15 - Los Angeles, CA
Arclight Hollywood - Los Angeles, CA
Arclight Sherman Oaks - Sherman Oaks, CA

William Saroyan House-Museum in Fresno, California
Doors Open August 31st

 
The long anticipated grand opening of the William Saroyan House-Museum will finally take place on August 31. In 2016, Renaissance Cultural and Intellectual Foundation, founded by Arthur Janibekyan, purchased William Saroyan’s house and saved it from foreclosure. Since then, the Saroyan House Project was launched and work began on establishing the William Saroyan House-Museum.
 
Saroyan, a celebrated Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film adaptation of his novel ‘The Human Comedy’.
 
He wrote extensively about the Armenian immigrant life in California. Many of his stories and plays are set in his native Fresno. Some of his best-known works are The Time of Your Life, My Name Is Aram and My Heart's in the Highlands.
 
In commemoration of his 110th birthday, the William Saroyan House-Museum will officially open its doors on August 31. Located at 2729 W Griffith Way, Fresno CA – this is where Saroyan spent the last 17 years of his life.
 
The museum will feature interactive and innovative technological components, giving a revival to William Saroyan’s legacy. Visitors will be greeted by an actual hologram of Saroyan. Guests will also find the largest digital archive of his life and work, including exclusive pictures, graphics and so forth.
 
Another main objective of the William Saroyan House-Museum will be to establish a research corner (as stated in his will) for students, scholars and other interested individuals. For more information, please e-mail info@saroyanhouse.com.

Yerevan Opera House to Honor French-Armenian Friendship

 
We encourage AFFMA members to help support an extraordinary Gala performance of the French operatic masterpiece Manon, which the Yerevan Opera House will present on October 10, 2018, on the occasion of the forthcoming Francophonie Summit.
 
The honor of hosting the 17th Francophonie Summit has been given to the Republic of Armenia this year. The prestigious Summit, to be held in Yerevan, will be attended by over 100 heads of state.
 
The Gala performance of Manon at the Yerevan Opera House will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian, and numerous other dignitaries from across the globe.
 
Manon is President Macron’s favorite opera. The performance, comprising award-winning set, costume, video, and lighting designs, will be conducted by Maestro Constantine Orbelian, Artistic and General Director of the Yerevan Opera House, under the stage direction of world-renowned director Andrejs Zagars. Opera stars appearing in the performance will include acclaimed tenor Libarit Avetissyan, Julietta Aleksanyan and the chorus, under the direction of Principal Choir Master Karen Sargsyan.
 
Today, as the Yerevan Opera House prepares for this wonderful event, they are asking the AFFMA community to help bring it to fruition, in a manner befitting the great occasion of the Francophonie Summit. Donations can be sent to:
 
First Republic Bank
111 Pine Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
 
Swift Code: FRBBUS6S
ABA / Routing Number: 321081669        
Beneficiary Name: MCO Cultural Exchange Corporation
Beneficiary Account Number: 80003973534

Award-winning Filmmaker Bared Maronian Working on New Project
Documenting Armenian Refugees Who Survived Sinking of Titanic

 
More than a century ago, Armenians who were living in the Ottoman Empire during the late 1800s began to flee persecution and massacres during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. These became known as the Hamidian Massacres and took place between 1894 and 1896. It is estimated that between 80,000 to as many as 300,000 Armenians lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Some Armenians were able to seek refuge aboard the lower decks of what was to be the largest passenger ship of its kind in the world, and a ship thought to be unsinkable – the Titanic.
 
Six Armenians who thought they had escaped certain death from the “near-genocidal” atrocities of the Hamidian Massacres, now found themselves facing another horror. This is because the ship that was supposed to provide them refuge, the Titanic, was now sinking with more than 2200 passengers aboard.
 
Miraculously two of these Armenian refugees – Nishan Krikorian and David Vartanian - did survive while more than 1,500 passengers aboard the Titanic drowned.
 
Titanic Love documents the lives of these two Armenian refugees. This documentary follows their miraculous survival from the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. It tells their story of love found and lost, surviving the horrors of a sinking ship, and ultimately beating the odds to finally arrive safely on the shores of America. This documentary also tells the heartwarming story of the great-granddaughter of one of these two survivors who relives her wedding aboard a Titanic replica in memory of her great-grandparents.