Starz acquires Armenian Genocide doc "Intent to Destroy"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The documentary "Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction" by Joe Berlinger is among eight exclusive first-run documentaries acquired by Starz, the Lionsgate company announced on Thursday, March 8, Deadline reports.

Starz is an American premium cable and satellite television network.

“We are acquiring an eclectic slate of documentaries that not only strategically align with Starz Original series but also present engaging subjects, provocative conflicts and authentic storytelling,” said C. Brett Marottoli, Head of Program Acquisitions for Starz.

In the documentary, Berlinger embeds himself on the epic film set of Terry George’s "The Promise" (2016) to take an unwavering look at the Armenian Genocide.

Historians, scholars and filmmakers come together in Berlinger’s cinematic exploration of the tangled web of responsibility that has driven a century of denial by the Turkish government and its strategic allies.

"Intent to Destroy" (2017) is a timely reckoning with the large-scale suppression of a historical tragedy. Berlinger confronts the fraught task of shedding light on the Armenian Genocide – whose witnesses and descendants are still fighting to be officially acknowledged as such by the international community – how it was carried out during World War I as the reign of the Ottoman Empire drew to a close, and how it laid the groundwork for the genocides that followed.

The documentary will premiere on Starz on April 23.

"The Rape of Recy Taylor", "McLaren", "Pecking Order", "Sled Dogs", "What Haunts Us", "Stranger Fruit" and "Love & Bananas" were also acquired by the network.

Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide.

Turkey denies to this day.