Turkish filmmakers to investigate parallels between Dersim, Armenian GenocideMarch 28, 2012 - 13:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A couple who produced the documentary “Two Strands of Hair: The Lost Girls of Dersim” is preparing to shoot a sequel to the film, which chronicled victims’ accounts of the bloody Dersim operation of 1938 Hürriyet Daily News reports. “When we were shooting the first documentary, we thought the subject matter would spur debate, but it had not occurred to us even remotely that a taboo would be shattered in such a way, and that even the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic would define the events as a ‘massacre,’” the documentary’s researcher and scriptwriter, Kazım Gündoğan told the HDN. Whereas the first documentary featured the testimonies of female children who were forcibly taken away from their families, the sequel, in turn, will include the accounts of the families of the troops who took them away. Documentary filmmakers Kazım and Nezahat Gündoğan will also investigate the parallels between the massacre in Dersim – which is now the eastern province of Tunceli – and the Armenian Genocide of 1915. “Soldiers’ children who said their fathers and grandfathers had brought female children from Dersim called us after the first documentary. They opened up their archives and related the [incidents] they witnessed. The personal archives and notes of troops and civil servants who participated in that process bear great significance,” Kazım Gündoğan said. “The families in question gave their archives away to old book collectors to unload their burden in connection with the bloody military operation that was launched against Alevi clans in Dersim,” he said. “The archives of Turkey’s black boxes are now [lying] in old book collector shops.” Kazım Gündoğan also added they had received much criticism from historians. “We believe in the power of human stories. ... They ask us which documents [illustrate] that the events in Dersim constituted not a rebellion but a massacre, and we present to them the testimonies of the people who experienced all the pain first hand. Which one [represents] the truth of history? The report prepared by the troops who personally participated in the massacre, or the eyewitnesses?” he said. Top stories Paris Center Pompidou Musée National d’Art Moderne will host the screening of Sergei Parajanov’s "Triptych" on December 15. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine |