SYDNEY: The Armenian Film Festival Australia has announced the World Premiere of the highly anticipated documentary "The Golden Chain of Mercy," which details the unique connection between Australians and the Armenian Genocide in Sydney on Friday, 16 August 2024.
Since its inception in 2016, the Armenian Film Festival Australia has showcased the rich Armenian culture, history, language, and traditions, of the Armenian people through the medium of film while consistently shining a spotlight on the Armenian cause, including the Armenian Genocide and Artsakh.
This year’s Opening Gala Night, which includes a glitzy cocktail reception, will be followed by the screening of "The Golden Chain of Mercy." The film delves into the harrowing realities of the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides and explores the heroic sacrifice of ANZAC unit fighters alongside the benevolent citizens of Australia and New Zealand who came to the aid of the persecuted Christian minorities of the Ottoman Empire.
The session will also include a Q&A segment with the Golden Chain of Mercy film producer Manvel Saribekyan who will be visiting from Armenia, and Armenian-Australian academic and Chief Historical Consultant of the film Vicken Babkenian.
The festival, which is scheduled to take place in Sydney between 15-25 August 2024 and in Melbourne between 6-8 September 2024, will showcase a total of 13 films, with the Opening Night in Melbourne also screening “The Golden Chain of Mercy”.
Three films will also explore the ongoing hardship faced by the Indigenous Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), including “Its Spring”, “Blockade”, and a short film called “Stones”, whilst “From Ararat to Zion” will uncover the age-old traditions of the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem and conclude with a Q&A session with filmmaker Edgar Baghdasaryan and a discussion about current events threatening the ancient Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.
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