Rare Screening and New Take on “Mandate for Armenia”

LOS ANGELES — The Armenian Film Foundation and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) will offer a rare screening of J. Michael Hagopian’s historic film “Mandate for Armenia” on Sunday, November 11, at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater at 2 pm. The program “Mandate for Armenia: J. Michael Hagopian’s 1987 Film Revisited on the Centenary of the First Republic of Armenia and in the Year of the Velvet Revolution,” is the second annual J. Michael Hagopian Film Discovery Program organized by the Armenian Film Foundation and NAASR.

Discussion to Feature New Armenian Consul Armen Baibourtian
Following the screening of the film, distinguished panelists will discuss its creation, the historical context of the events in the film, and its current-day repercussions. The panel features Dr. Armen Baibourtian, newly appointed Armenian Consul General in Los Angeles; Dr. Carla Garapedian, Filmmaker and Member, Board of Directors, Armenian Film Foundation; and Mr. Marc A. Mamigonian, Director of Academic Affairs, National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR); with opening and closing words from Narekatsi Chairholder Prof. S. Peter Cowe and Hovannisian Chairholder Prof. Sebouh Aslanian.

A Unique Look at This Pivotal Moment in History
In 1918 the Republic of Armenia was declared and immediately faced unimaginable difficulties and threats to its survival. There was strong sympathy for the plight of Armenia among Americans and considerable discussion in policy-making circles about what America’s role could or should be in ensuring Armenia’s future. This culminated in the 1919 American military mission to Armenia led by Maj. Gen. James Harbord and the debate over the U.S. assuming a mandate for Armenia.

In 1987, filmmaker Dr. J. Michael Hagopian, working with film footage originally shot during the Harbord mission’s travels in Western and Eastern Armenia, augmented with additional images and commentary by historian Prof. Richard G. Hovannisian, released the film Mandate for Armenia, a unique document of this pivotal historical episode.

Co-sponsored by the Richard G. Hovannisian Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA and the Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Language and Literature at UCLA, the November 11 program will take place at 2:00 pm, at the James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA. This program is free and open to the public. A reception will immediately follow the program. Parking is available in Lot 3, 215 Charles E. Young Drive North (at Hilgard Avenue). For more information about the program, contact NAASR at (617) 489-1610 or hq@naasr.org.