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PRESS RELEASE
October 24, 2008
ATP Film ‘Trees for Life’ Wins Best Short Documentary at Pomegranate Film
Festival
By Jason Sohigian
TORONTO, Canada–The 20 minute film, "Trees for Life: The Story of Armenia
Tree Project," was named Best Short Documentary at the Third Annual
Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto last month.
The Third Annual Pomegranate Film Festival was held on September 26-28, 2008
and featured 31 films, including "Burning Rome" directed by Robert
Kechichian and "Hrant Dink: Heart of Two Nations" directed by Nouritza
Matossian.
Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has been partnering with the Pomegranate Festival
as part of its Green Initiative, which includes a donation to ATP to plant
trees in Armenia that will offset the carbon emissions of flying guests to
the event.
"Carbon dioxide is a leading contributor to the problem of climate change,
so ATP is proud to work with the Pomegranate Festival to offset these
emissions by planting trees in Armenia to improve the quality of the global
environment," stated Development Officer Paul Yeghiayan, who represented ATP
at the event.
The award-winning ATP documentary, "Trees for Life: The Story of Armenia
Tree Project," was directed by Kennedy Wheatley of Los Angeles and it was
produced for the 10th anniversary of the organization.
Narrated by David Dallakyan, a young boy from the rural village of Aygut,
the film tells the story of ATP’s Backyard Nursery Micro-Enterprise Program,
as well as the interrelated humanitarian programs that have turned this
pilot project into an initiative recognized for an Energy Globe Award for
Sustainability at the European Parliament this year.
"This film was truly a labor of love and I was honored to be invited by
Carolyn Mugar to direct this film about the important work ATP is doing. And
it is exciting that they have developed a model that other countries can
follow," stated Kennedy Wheatley. "The people of Armenia were unbelievably
generous to our crew–they instantly opened their homes and their hearts to
us."
"The ATP staff was amazing too–they worked night and day along with us
during our challenging shoot," added the director. "It is a great honor to
have this film chosen as Best Short Documentary. It is a fitting tribute to
Armenia Tree Project and its many beneficiaries."
The documentary was screened on the afternoon of September 25, where
festival patrons were joined by hundreds of students from the ARS Day School
in Toronto. "We were pleased that our students were able to view the ATP
documentary since this program is so vital for Armenia’s future," stated
Principal Armen Martirossian. "We hope the students will have the desire to
support ATP and together we can build bridges for environmental education
and stewardship in Armenia."
"On behalf of ATP, I would like to express our gratitude to the Pomegranate
Film Festival and the Armenian community of Toronto for their ongoing
support of our work in Armenia," concluded Yeghiayan.
Since 1994, Armenia Tree Project has planted and restored more than
2,000,000 trees and created hundreds of jobs for impoverished Armenians in
tree-regeneration programs. The organization’s three tiered initiatives are
tree planting, community development to reduce poverty and promote
self-sufficiency, and environmental education to protect Armenia’s precious
natural resources. For additional information, visit the web site
PHOTO CAPTION: Students from the ARS Day School in Toronto show their
enthusiasm for ATP’s newsletter after viewing "Trees for Life: The Story of
Armenia Tree Project," which was named Best Short Documentary at the Third
Annual Pomegranate Film Festival
Note to editors: The photograph for this story is available in color if you
can use it for your print publication or web site. Please write to
jason@armeniatree.org for color version of photo if needed.