Filmmaker Eric Nazarian to Screen Bolis

GLENDALE — Award winning filmmaker Eric Nazarian to screen his film Bolis on Thursday, September 26, 2013, at 7pm at The Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street in Glendale. Admission is free; seating is limited. The film is in English, Turkish and Armenian. Running time is 20 minutes.

Bolis tells the story of Armenak Mouradian, an Armenian oud musician from the Diaspora who travels to Istanbul to find his grandfather’s oud shop and a family heirloom which disappeared during the Armenian Genocide. As the lead character Armenak says in the film “Armenians call Istanbul Bolis.” Bolis was a part of the omnibus film, Do Not Forget Me Istanbul made in 2010 as part of the European Capital of Culture Istanbul 2010 Program. Bolis was the recipient of the Best Short Film Award at the 14th Arpa International Film Festival in 2011. It has screened in film festivals in Armenia, Istanbul, Sarajevo, Dubai, Antalya, Brazil and Rabat, among several others.

Eric Nazarian is a screenwriter, filmmaker and photojournalist. His first feature film, The Blue Hour, premiered in competition at the 55th San Sebastian International Film Festival, going on to win six international awards on the film festival circuit. Nazarian received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (home of the Oscars) prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his original screenplay, Giants. Nazarian directed Occupied Tears, a 3D and 2D animation music video for Serj Tankian about child war survivors in the Middle East. Nazarian is a fellow of the inaugural cycle of the Fox Writers Intensive at 20th Century Fox Studios and a jury member and trainer for the Armenian-Turkish Cinema Platform at the Golden Apricot International Film Festival. He is currently adapting Chris Bohjalian’s critically acclaimed novel, The Sandcastle Girls, for the big screen. In an interview Nazarian said: “I grew up with the images of “Old Bolis” in my mind; the Bolis of Ara Guler, Siamanto, Daniel Varoujan, Orhan Pamuk and Udi Hrant. I wanted to go with an open mind yet I was haunted by the demons of the genocide. ”
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Library visitors receive 3 hours FREE parking across the street at The Market Place parking structure with validation at the Loan Desk. The program is sponsored by the Library, Arts & Culture Department.

CONTACT: Elizabeth Grigorian, Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department at egrigorian@ci.glendale.ca.us or call (818) 548-3288.