Sponsored by Hamazkayin Cultural Association & Seroonian Community Center
“Voyage to Amasia” documents composer Eric Hachikian’s return to his ancestral home – Amasia, Turkey – nearly 100 years after Ottoman soldiers deported his grandmother, Helen Shushan, and her family. Eric’s family’s deportation from Amasia was just one of many Armenian death marches happening across Turkey during the time. Using World War I as a cover, the Ottoman government systematically deported and executed its Armenian citizens, and historians estimate that 1-1.5 million Armenians died – it was the first genocide of the 20th century. After Helen’s death in 2004, Eric wrote a traditional four-movement piano trio entitled “Voyage to Amasia” in her honor, and the documentary takes its inspiration from the piece. The film traces a path through the past, uncovering what his grandmother’s life in Turkey might have been like. It also explores how the events of nearly a century ago continue to strain the relationship between Armenians and Turks today.
Place: St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Founders Hall
8701 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, pa 19128
Date & Time: March 7th, Friday 2014, 7:30 pm
Dinner & Movie: 20 dollars (A choice of Lent or Roast Beef Dinner)
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