PR
River Ran Red
Susanna Kim
Tamar Mashigian P.R.
310.276.5001
susanna@cdecor.com

President, 435 Members of Congress Get Genocide Documentary
"River Ran Red" with Letter from Jewish World Watch

Film is Screened to Large Audiences Nationwide

(April 24, 2009) – Jewish World Watch founder Rabbi Harold Schulweis
urged members of Congress to support House Resolution 252 on the
Armenian Genocide in a letter accompanied by a DVD copy of The River
Ran Red, the epic documentary film on the Genocide by Dr. J. Michael
Hagopian.

The film has become an important tool in recounting the events of
1915, when the Ottoman Turks carried out the planned extermination of
1.5 million Armenians in what is the first Genocide of the 20th
century. More than 300 people attended the East Coast Premiere of The
River Ran Red in Watertown, MA, on March 22, and screenings during the
past week at Genocide commemorative activities at the University of
Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles,
drew hundreds of students.

Culminating more than 40 years of interviews with 400 eyewitnesses to
the Armenian Genocide of 1915, The River Ran Red is the final film in
Hagopian’s The Witnesses trilogy produced by the Armenian Film
Foundation. The 60-minute documentary film depicts the epic search for
survivors of the Armenian Genocide along the Euphrates, which snakes
from the Armenian Plateau in Turkey to Syria. Hagopian weaves a
compelling story of terrifying intensity and resounding warmth. The
search concludes with the discovery and testimony of the last three
survivors, among several thousand, who had been stuffed into a burning
cave in the forbidden desert of Deir Zor.

The Jewish World Watch has been a strong supporter of the Armenian
Film Foundation’s efforts to bring the events of the Armenian Genocide
to the fore. In his letter to the members of Congress, Rabbi Schulweis
wrote, "We are men and women of conscience, and together we ask our
government to recognize what we know as true: that 1.5 million
Armenians were systematically slaughtered in a government-sponsored
campaign of genocide against them. … I urge you to watch this film,
and put your vote to work recognizing the Armenian Genocide by
endorsing H.Res. 252." DVD copies of The River Ran Red along with the
same letter also were sent to President Barack Obama, Vice President
Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The River Ran Red has had several screenings in the past several
weeks. The National Association of Armenian Studies and Research
(NAASR) organized a showing in Watertown, at the Mosesian Theater at
the Watertown Arsenal Center for the Arts. Dr. Hagopian and Armenian
Film Foundation board member Gerald Papazian attended the Boston-area
event from Los Angeles. Afterwards, there was a panel discussion with
Dr. Hagopian, Prof. Taner Akçam, who holds the chair in Armenian
Genocide studies at Clark University, and Dr. Bedross Der Matossian
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In another screening on the East Coast, the film was shown at New
Jersey’s Englewood Public Library on April 23.

In Southern California, Armenian students joined in the call for
passage of H.Res. 252. The screening at USC on Monday, April 20, was
sponsored by the USC Armenian Student Association and the USC
Institute of Armenian Studies. The showing at UCLA on Sunday, April
26, was sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program and the UCLA
Armenian Graduate Student Association. Immediately following the
screening there was a lively question and answer session with director
J. Michael Hagopian.

"Armenian students at these two great universities will be critical
for generations to come," stated Dr. Hagopian. "They should be well
versed in all aspects of the Genocide and accept the responsibility
history places upon them as future leaders of our people." He added,
"At both institutions I was amazed at the intellectual attributes of
the students and their fervent devotion for Armenian causes. The
future will be in good hands with these students."

The River Ran Red may be purchased by calling the Armenian Film
Foundation at 805-495-0717 or visiting