Family Interviews Across the World
Shortly after the 75th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, my family began talking about it. They had kept a tight lip, focusing only on our present. Our family mantra had become "we are the good things that came later, not the bad things that happened to us." A few years later I started recording.
In 2019, I listened to Kid Koala's album "Music to Draw To: io" and it inspired me on a subway train commute with the thesis of a film I had been trying to write since the 1990s. I would soon embark on a road trip to Los Angeles to interview all my cousins along the way. I also drove to Halifax, Chicago, Detroit and flew to Türkiye and Armenia soon thereafter. Capturing the footage that would tell the world what happened, using food spreads and conversations to bring the family back together, just like they did throughout the 20th century at church picnics and family backyard barbecues.
Backer Perks, Animation & Post-Production
Every funder that backs the goal over $30 will receive a digital download of the feature cut of the film. Cities with the largest amounts of backers, will also have a private public screening that backers would be invited to.
This self-produced feature has been paid for by my paychecks. Unfortunately due to strikes in the industry, there has been no new work in many months, yet I am so close to finishing this film.
Each still frame design costs from $50 to $150. those will be done first.
Those designs head to animation where the artwork is split apart and moved in new ways. This can cost $500 to $1500 per scene.
I am an animator myself, but there is far too much for one person to do, I will need to hire help.
The desert scenes, where Grandpa Stephen and walked the "desert death march" from Eskisehir to Baghdad is likely to cost $10,000 on it's own, as it's is a much darker animation style than I could ever do myself.
The Baghdad reunion scenes will be done by the same artist, who has an amazing portfolio filled with dark anime style content that would fit perfectly in the Syrian desert environment these stories take place in.
Post-Production also means having the films audio mixer deal with almost 50 years of analog sources that must be combined with modern microphones used in recent interviews.
Color Grading, Audio mixing, mastering, digital cinema exports will cost over $40,000.
The Impact
These contributions will ensure the first public performances of the film have animations and not still frame character designs in place. It will ensure the color and sound is the best it can be, with audio recordings going back to 1978 and film and photographs back to 1905, there is much to do in order to optimize the viewer experience.
Public viewings in 2025
The film will be going to festivals with or without this funding. It's currently in a state where storyboard stills sit in for future animations and post-production fixes have not been finished.
The goal is having the film be owned by a 500 year trust that uses the media of the film to teach people what happened to the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Creating educational packets for high schools and universities with first person perspectives of the tales from our family.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute, please share among your people! Maybe someone else you know can help.