NAASR organized the East Coast premiere of Michael Hagopian's "The River Ran Red"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) organized the East Coast premiere of Dr. J. Michael Hagopian's newest Armenian Genocide documentary, "The River Ran Red," which was followed by a panel discussion. The screening and panel were held at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown.



Panelists included Dr. J. Michael Hagopian; Dr. Bedross Der Matossian, lecturer in Middle Eastern History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and Dr. Taner Akcam, chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University. NAASR director of academic affairs Marc

A. Mamigonian was the moderator.



NAASR board chairperson Nancy R. Kolligian and Mamigonian introduced the event, with the latter saying of Hagopian's 60-year documentary film career, "What he's done in his career is truly extraordinary."



Taner Akcam spoke next, beginning with the recollection that Hagopian had interviewed him more than fifteen years ago, and joking that "When Michael heard a Turk was talking about the Armenian Genocide he said, 'I have to meet this Turk before something happens to him.'"



He said candidly, "When I watch such movies, I'm always speechless. I don't know what to say to that. We here try to comprehend, something that is incomprehensible. The question is always the same: 'why?'"



Akcam noted, "The first reason we have to deal with all these genocidal mass crimes in the past is we have to acknowledge the dignity of these speakers. We have to respect their life and their legacy."



He said, "Armenia, in order to be safe in the region, they have to have good relations with Turkey. For that reason, Turkey and Armenia must heal the past to deal with peace and prosperity as neighboring states."



It is important to continue with the research that is being done, Akcam stated, because although the "general picture" of the genocide is understood, "we don't know how the genocide really developed without starting from one village and ending in Der Zor or afterwards."



During the question-and-answer period, Hagopian explained that he has some 400 interviews with survivors including, incredibly, interviews with survivors of the 1890s massacres and the 1909 Adana massacres and that he plans to make one more film that uses this precious footage. He also expressed his pessimism on the prospects of a major shift in policy regarding genocide recognition under Obama.