Between Borders tells the story of an Armenian family’s plight in Baku

Ivan, Julia, Olga and Violetta Petrosyan inspired the film Between Borders, which premiered at the Armenian Film Festival in September 2024. The film is based on the real-life events of the Petrosyan family and their plight in Baku during the anti-Armenian pogroms in the late 1980s. The film portrays the family’s flight from Baku due to their Armenian ethnicity.

Between Borders is a poignant film that shows a family’s suffering as well as their inspiring resilience and dreams of finding home. It is a historically accurate movie depicting one family’s plight in unknown lands due to the systemic racism and hatred towards Armenians spread by Azerbaijan’s state-sponsored Armenophobia campaign. This movie should be shown in high school and university classes to better educate the next generations. The movie will be in theaters January 26-28, 2025.

The family had lived in Azerbaijan for generations. “My mother was born in Baku, and my father was from Taglar. My parents ended up living in Sumgait, because it was a rapidly growing city with more job and lodging opportunities. Sumgait was officially founded only in 1949. I was born in Baku as well and lived with my parents in Sumgait for the first six years of my life. After a serious kidney disease, I stayed with my grandmother who raised me,” said Violetta.

Violetta’s family was forced to leave their beloved city of Shushi during the 1920 massacres. Her family was able to survive because they had gold. She remembers turning back as they were fleeing Shushi and seeing her house on fire. Violetta’s great-grandfather was arrested and imprisoned for eight years because he was a priest. Her great-uncles helped her grandmother raise the children.

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Ivan and Violetta’s daughter Olga was four years old during the Baku pogroms. Her earliest memory is playing on a swing in the hallway of their apartment building. Her sister Julia was eight years old when masses of men, screaming “death to Armenians,” scared every Armenian child in the city. To this day, Olga has a hard time around crowds of people. 

Olga had to be taken out of daycare by her grandmother, because they were threatening the Armenian children. She stayed with her grandmother, who protected her from the Azeris as they relentlessly banged on their door, wanting to shed Armenian blood. Thankfully, an Azeri neighbor protected them. This neighbor would buy bread for the family since it was so dangerous for Armenians to be outside.

Violetta remembers that the mobs had lists of Armenian whereabouts to target. The family had a plan in case someone broke into their home. They would use the flares that Ivan, an avid mountain climber, had brought home to scare the Azeris and climb down the balcony with ropes. They also had an ax for their protection. The principal of the school where Violetta taught, an Azeri woman, would bring Julia and Olga home so the mobs would not bother them.

“Tensions were always there between Azeris and Armenians. Armenians were considered second-class citizens. There was always fear instilled in the Armenian population. After the 1988 Spitak earthquake, there was immense rejoicing within the Azeri community, taking pleasure in the calamity that befell Armenia. Teachers and schoolchildren used state-funded rhetoric saying, ‘Kill all Armenians. Cleanse the city and nation of Armenians,’” Violetta said.

Violetta was accepted to the University of Languages at the age of 17. She earned a student internship but was overlooked because she was Armenian. At school, Azeri students were given credit for her work. She got straight A’s on her final exams. The president of the university told her that he knew she was Armenian, despite her last name. Armenians had to change their last names to ensure they would not be discriminated against. After receiving her diploma, Violetta had to serve in an Azeri village and felt intense fear. 

“February 28 was my father’s birthday. In 1988, we as a family had gone to Sumgait to celebrate his birthday. My father came home and said windows were broken all over Sumgait and for us to get ready to go back to Baku. We were the last bus to leave Sumgait before the pogroms started. I fled with Olga and Julia. My mother was supposed to come but didn’t make it on that bus ride. A few days later, my family of eight fled Sumgait and came to live with us. It was so bittersweet. We were in tears hearing about relatives being killed and so grateful and filled with joy when we found a relative alive. My parents and family were able to escape, because their Azeri neighbors had brought gasoline for them to get out of Sumgait,” Violetta recalled. 

Children of mixed marriages between Armenians and Azeris also had to flee, as they were not accepted in society. Violetta’s aunt stayed but sent her children away. She has had no contact with her aunt since. 

By January 1989, things were increasingly dangerous for all Armenians in Baku. The Petrosyan family fled to Russia with backpacks and Ivan’s guitar. Ivan, a rocket scientist and music enthusiast, was determined to get his family to safety. Their apartment was looted after they left. 

They were promised a place in Russia, but that fell through. They then went to Armenia and tried to assimilate but left after a month because of their cold reception. They were discriminated against for speaking only Russian and no Armenian. They went back to Russia and then to Ukraine. One day, Julia came home and asked if she was Armenian. Her parents stated yes. She shared that she was bullied at school for her ethnicity. The family left Ukraine and returned to Russia, where their grandparents lived in a shed. The girls were also mocked there for being Armenian.

Olga, Violetta and Ivan Petrosyan

“I was bullied tirelessly for being Armenian and Christian, and it wasn’t until recent years that I embraced my Armenian heritage. I honor my heritage with the forget-me-not flower tattoo. When we were in Glendale, California for the movie premiere, I went to a grocery store, and the lady asked, ‘Are you Armenian?’ I said yes with pride. I see the beauty of my culture,” Olga shared.

Olga left a doll behind in Baku. “Since we fled at night, I forgot the doll in the bathroom and couldn’t go back to get it. My sister Julia managed to get two of her teddy bears, and she would let me play with them, but they weren’t mine. My mom did private tutoring in Volgograd, Russia to buy me an Ariel, the Little Mermaid doll. Oh, how I loved that doll!” Olga said. 

In Russia, the family attended the Church of the Nazarene and became acquainted with the Norris family of missionaries. They helped the Petrosyan family come to the United States, where they were eventually given residency. The families stayed close, so when Isaac Norris approached the Petrosyans to produce a film, the family was eager to share their story. 

The script went through eight drafts and took two years to make. They had constant Zoom meetings to piece together the story. The Armenian Film Society also reached out expressing interest in the film.

“We’re not just telling a story. We’re bringing to life the incredible journey of a family that represents hope, strength and the power of faith,” Norris said. “The Petrosyans’ resilience and grace throughout their harrowing journey challenges us all. Their faith shines in circumstances that many of us will never understand.”

Between Borders was filmed earlier this year in and around Bucharest, Romania. The film was written by Adam Sjoberg, Isaac Norris and Mark Freiburger and produced by Isaac Norris, Jude S. Walko (Rumors of War), Mark Freiburger and Ken Carpenter (Finding You, The Shift). Rogier Stoffers (Redeeming Love, School of Rock) was the director of photography.

Olga currently lives in Indiana with her husband and two children, Caspian and Leah. Ivan and Violetta live in West Virginia and have been embraced by their church. Julia owns a Denmark coffee shop ministry and is married with two children.

The Petrosyan family experienced PTSD again when a year ago Artsakh was ethnically cleansed of its indigenous Armenian population. It was difficult for the family to see history repeat itself, especially since they had to leave everything behind because of their Armenian identity.

“I wanted to name my son Caspian, because Baku is forever lost to me. It’s my birthplace, yet I can never go there. Caspian loves that he can see his name on a map, whereas Leah wonders why her name isn’t on a map,” Olga said.

Talar Keoseyan

Talar Keoseyan

Talar Keoseyan is a mother, educator and writer. She is the author of Vanna's Adventures (discusses Armenian traditions and customs); Mom and Dad, Why Do I Need to Know My Armenian Heritage? (a children's book about being proud of our heritage); Our Tigran and Tigran's Song (written in honor of Tigran Harutyunyan, a fedayee from the 44 Day War).

2 Comments

  1. The gruesome pogroms by Azeris against Armenians and the rabid Armenophobia of the Azeris, which is taught to them from kindergarten onwards and by their media, is a carbon copy of Nazi Germany towards the Jews, and is a very stark reminder, why Arnenians cannot live among them and under their jurisdiction, yet very naive and ignorant ones entertain this crazy suicidal idea.

  2. Between Borders captures a crucial and often-overlooked chapter of Armenian history, shedding light on the resilience of those affected by the anti-Armenian violence in Baku. This film serves as both a historical record and a testament to the strength of the Armenian community. It’s essential that stories like these are told, so future generations understand the pain endured by Armenian families and the importance of resilience in the face of persecution.

    Thank you for shedding light !

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