J. Michael Hagopian
Encyclopedia
Jakob Michael Hagopian , (October 20, 1913 – December 10, 2010) was an Armenia
n-America
n Emmy-nominated filmmaker and Armenian Genocide
survivor.
. In summer of 1915, when the Ottoman soldiers rampaged through Kharpert, Michael's mother hid her child in a mulberry
bush and prayed that the Turkish soldiers would not find him. Both escaped, and moved to Fresno, California
.
Hagopian received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley
, and after receiving a doctororate in international relations
from Harvard University
, he went into cinema and founded the Atlantis Films Company, which produced over fifty documentary films on ethnic minorities and foreign lands. He won critical acclaim, including two Emmy nominations for his film The Forgotten Genocide, the first full-length feature on the Armenian Genocide
. The film encompassed twenty years of research and nearly 400 witness interviews..
In 1979, Hagopian founded the non-profit Armenian Film Foundation dedicated to preserving the visual and personal histories of the witnesses to the Armenian Genocide.
The pre-release version of Hagopian's 58-minute documentary "The River Ran Red" opened the Eighth Annual Arpa International Film Festival on Oct. 24, 2008 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California
, four days after Hagopian’s 95th birthday.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n-America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n Emmy-nominated filmmaker and Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
survivor.
Biography
Hagopian was born to an Armenian family on 20 October 1913, in Kharpert, Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In summer of 1915, when the Ottoman soldiers rampaged through Kharpert, Michael's mother hid her child in a mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
bush and prayed that the Turkish soldiers would not find him. Both escaped, and moved to Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
.
Hagopian received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and after receiving a doctororate in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, he went into cinema and founded the Atlantis Films Company, which produced over fifty documentary films on ethnic minorities and foreign lands. He won critical acclaim, including two Emmy nominations for his film The Forgotten Genocide, the first full-length feature on the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. The film encompassed twenty years of research and nearly 400 witness interviews..
In 1979, Hagopian founded the non-profit Armenian Film Foundation dedicated to preserving the visual and personal histories of the witnesses to the Armenian Genocide.
The pre-release version of Hagopian's 58-minute documentary "The River Ran Red" opened the Eighth Annual Arpa International Film Festival on Oct. 24, 2008 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, four days after Hagopian’s 95th birthday.
Other awards
- Arpa Lifetime Achievement Award,
- Armin T. WegnerArmin T. WegnerArmin Theophil Wegner was a German soldier and medic in World War I, a prolific author and a seminal figure in German Expressionism, a human rights activist, and a victim of Nazi persecution...
Humanitarian Award, 2006, - Jewish World WatchJewish World WatchThe Jewish World Watch is an NGO based out of Southern California, a coalition of more than 60 synagogues including Valley Beth Shalom and Jewish groups with the objective of educating, advocating, and donating in order to combat genocide and other human rights violations all over the world...
's 'I Witness' Award for dedicating his professional life to chronicling the history of the Armenian people and commemorating victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Filmography
- The Witnesses Trilogy
- Part 3:
-
- Part 2:
-
- Part 1:
(Produced for the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission of the State of California.)
- California Armenians: The First Generation
- The Art of Traditional Armenian Cooking
- Soviet Boy
External links
- Armenian Film Foundation (Official Website of the organization founded by Hagopian)
- Hagopian the Filmmaker on the website of the Armenian Film Foundation
- Hagopian at Armeniapedia
- 95-year-old Award-Winning Filmmaker Completes 70th Documentary, PRWeb, October 15, 2008
- Award-Winning Filmmaker J. Michael Hagopian Dies at 97, Asbarez
- Obituary of Michael Hagopian, The Daily Telegraph, 20 December, 2010
- Part 1:
-
- Part 2:
-
- Part 3: