On Mon., April 16, noted filmmakers Alina and Zareh Shahan Tjeknavorian will give the 2012 Alice K. Norian Lecture at the Zachs Community Room at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Social Work. The event is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).
The evening will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. The Tjeknavorians will then show and discuss their film “Credo,” which they assembled from remnants of the legendary silent film “Ravished Armenia,” and set to a soundtrack by Zareh’s distinguished father, Maestro Loris Tjeknavorian. The program will also include a performance of music for piano and voice of selected Armenian folksongs interspersed with Armenian Sketches for Piano “for my son Zareh Shahan” by Loris Tjeknavorian, which will be performed by soprano Anna Hayrapetyan and pianist Irma Vallecillo, of UConn’s department of music.
Zareh Tjeknavorian has made a number of films that explore aspects of Armenian history and culture. His most widely known film, the documentary “Enemy of the People,” explored Stalinist oppression in Armenia, and was narrated by Eric Bogosian. He, along with his wife Alina, have gone on to make a number of Armenian-themed films, including a short lyrical film “Embers of the Sun” (2001) exploring their interests in prehistoric Armenian monuments, and “Tigranakert: An Armenian Odyssey,” about the discovery of an ancient city in Artsakh (Karabagh).
Their most recent film project focuses on the work of the Near East Relief, an American-inspired organization that worked tirelessly to aid all victims of the devastating effects of World War I and its aftermath in the Middle East and the Caucasus. The survival and eventual resettlement of the Armenian victims of the genocide would not have occurred without the efforts of Near East Relief.
The Norian Lecture is supported by a bequest from Alice K. Norian to the University of Connecticut to establish an endowment to be used to educate students and the general public about Armenian culture and history, and to gather Armenian Americans for both these purposes. The Norian endowment supports three primary initiatives at UConn: the annual Alice K. Norian Lecture; the Summer Field School in Armenian Prehistory; and student and faculty exchange programs through the School of Social Work at UConn and the Social Work Program at Yerevan State University.
The event is free and open to the public, and takes place from 6-9 p.m. at 1798 Asylum Ave. in West Hartford, Conn. For more information, call (860) 486-3152.
Alina and Zareh are remarkable filmmakers whose work, now and in the future, enlighten those who do not know about our talented Armenian community. Their film “Enemy of the People” is worthy of great exposure.