The epic search for survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 along the Euphrates River.
From his archives of 400 testimonies of survivors and eyewitnesses, award-winning filmmaker J. Michael Hagopian weaves a compelling story of terrifying intensity, taking the viewer from the highland waters of the river to the burning deserts of Syria... and to the final resting place of those whose blood ran red in the waters of the Euphrates.
WINNER
BEST INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
2009 New York International Film & Video Festival
FEATURED FILM
2008 ARPA International Film Festival
The epic search for survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 along the Euphrates River. From his archives of 400 testimonies of survivors and eyewitnesses, award-winning filmmaker J. Michael Hagopian weaves a compelling story of terrifying intensity, taking the viewer from the highland waters of the river to the burning deserts of Syria... and to the final resting place of those whose blood ran red in the waters of the Euphrates.
Through censored reports, classified documents and hidden diaries, the film reveals the global humanitarian dimensions of the Armenian Genocide as recorded by eyewitness accounts of American and European diplomats, missionaries and educators. Amazingly, scratched-out journals were decoded with modern technology and, combined with filmed survivor interviews, report the day-to-day tragedy unfolding in Kharpert-Mezreh, one among 4,000 towns and villages in the Turkish Ottoman Empire that saw its Armenian population deported to killing fields.
Distinguished academic experts and eyewitnesses recount horrors of the planned Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish Ottoman government against the backdrop of World War I. Using rare archival footage, the film chronicles the involvement of Turkey’s economic and military ally, Germany, in the first Genocide of the 20th Century. Some Germans who were involved during the Armenian Genocide later joined the Nazi party and served under Hitler.
Chronicling the near extinction of a Christian minority in the Turkish Ottoman Empire
In 1915, Turkish leaders began the systematic annihilation of the Armenian people from their ancestral homeland of 3,500 years.
1.5 million Armenians were indiscriminately massacred.
Turkey's genocidal mission continues today, in 2020, in the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh / Artsakh.
"Genocide begins with the killing of one man - not for what he has done but because of how he is."
- Nobel Prize winner Kofi Annan