1915THE MOVIE

PRESS KIT #EndYourDenial

Jan 2015 PRESS KIT Directors’ Statement

In 1915, under the cover of a world war, millions of Armenians were quietly taken out of their homes and marched to their deaths in the deserts of Ottoman . Their towns and villages were burned to the ground. Their churches were dismantled, too; the crime was to be denied forever.

It was a crime so new, it did not even have a name. Statement Directors’

Those who escaped 1915 tried to find new lives across the world. Many survivors, like our great-grandparents, never spoke of what they had seen. But some nights, we would hear them crying and screaming in their sleep.

In April 2015, millions of Armenians across the world will commemorate the Basic Information 100th anniversary of those nightmares—what historians now call the —the first genocide of modern history and the blueprint of the genocides that followed: the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia, the Sudan. They will march in commemoration but also in protest against the silence, indifference, and ongoing denial that have fueled an entire century of genocide. Direction

Our movie takes place one hundred years after 1915, on the other side of the world. It is about denial: what happens when the past is ignored; what happens when it is confronted. It tells the story of a man who is on a mission to bring the unrecognized ghosts of 1915 back to life.

How can something that happened 100 years ago possibly matter today? How Team Creative does any past tragedy, individual or historic, continue to affect our lives? What does it mean to “move on”? These are some of the questions we pursue in 1915.

As we face the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, we are grateful for your support and friendship. Social Media Warmly,

Garin K. Hovannisian, co-writer/director Alec Mouhibian, co-writer/director Historical Timeline

1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL Alec Mouhibian (L) and Garin Hovannisian (R) on location at the Theatre. 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Basic Information

Film Title 1915

Genre Directors’ Statement Directors’ Psychological Thriller, Drama

Directed & Written by

Garin K. Hovannisian & Alec Mouhibian Basic Information

Story Direction

Logline A mind-bending psychological thriller set against one of the most terrifying events of modern history, 1915 The Movie follows one man's controversial mission to bring the ghosts of a forgotten genocide back to life. Creative Team Creative

Synopsis In 2015, exactly 100 years after the Armenian Genocide, a theatre director (Simon) is staging a play at the Los Angeles Theatre to honor the victims of that tragedy—a horrifying crime forgotten and denied for an entire century. Social Media

But as protestors surround his theatre, and a series of mysterious accidents spread panic among his actors, we realize that Simon’s mission is more controversial than we think—and the ghosts of the past are everywhere.

The magic of the play won’t work unless the actors, especially Simon’s enigmatic wife Angela, face the truths that haunt their own lives. Historical Timeline

1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Basic Information Cast

Simon Abkarian | as Simon

Born in Paris in 1962, into a French-Armenian family, Simon Abkarian has mesmerized the world as an internationally acclaimed film and stage actor. He has starred in more than 30 films, including YES (a film by Sally Potter), CASINO ROYALE (opposite Daniel Craig, as the villain Alex Dimitrios),

RENDITION, CUT, and GETT, nominated for best foreign film in the 2015 Statement Directors’ Golden Globes. In 2001, for his stage performance in BEAST ON THE MOON, Abkarian won the Moliere Award – the highest honor of the French theatre.

Abkarian delivered a stunning portrayal of Armenian painter Arshile Gorky in Atom Egoyan’s ARARAT. His performance in 1915 is the culmination of a lifelong devotion to honor his heritage and artistically redeem the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Basic Information

Angela Sarafyan | as Angela

Born in , , Angela Sarafyan moved to Los Angeles at the age Direction of four, and launched into the global spotlight with her role as the vampire Tia in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2. She most recently played opposite Marion Cotillard in THE IMMIGRANT, directed by James Grey, and has starred in THE INFORMERS, PARANOIA, A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY, and many other films and TV shows. The new pilot , featuring Sarafyan alongside Anthony Hopkins and Evan Rachel Wood, just received a series pickup from HBO and is set to debut in 2015. Creative Team Creative

Sam Page | as James Social Media Born in Milwaukee, Sam Page has simultaneously juggled three recurring arcs on such beloved series as AMC’s Golden Globe and Emmy Award- winning MAD MEN, the worldwide phenomenon DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, and acclaimed ABC Family Channel series GREEK. Page joined yet another cast in the form of an arc on GOSSIP GIRL, and most recently, in season two of the original series HOUSE OF CARDS with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

Previously a co-star of the CBS drama SHARK, opposite James Woods, Page has also appeared in a host of other popular television shows and starred in a series of feature films, including SERIAL DATERS ANONYMOUS. Historical Timeline

1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Basic Information

Nikolai Kinski | as Tony International phenom Nikolai Kinski has performed in a series of acclaimed films (including KLIMT (film), AEON FLUX, YVES SAINT LAURENT, and the forthcoming remake of POINT BREAK) ever since his first role alongside father Klaus Kinski in Paganini at the age of 11. Directors’ Statement Directors’ Basic Information

Jim Piddock | as Jeffrey Jim Piddock, an actor, writer, and producer, is a transatlantic fixture of the screen and stage. He was most recently the co-creator (with Christopher Guest) and co-star of HBO's FAMILY TREE and has guest starred on NBC's

MARRY ME with Casey Wilson, Ken Marino, and Jo Beth Williams, as well as Direction CBS's MOM alongside Alison Janney, and FXX's new MAN SEEKING WOMAN. He has graced the screen in a vast array of blockbusters, including LETHAL WEAPON 2, INDEPENDENCE DAY, AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEM- BER, THE PRESTIGE, THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT, and THINK LIKE A MAN TOO. Creative Team Creative

Other Cast Members Debra Christofferson (CARNIVALE), Sunny Suljic (SALEM), Courtney Halverson (THE HAMMER), and Myles Cranford (LOWDOWN). Social Media Historical Timeline

1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Direction

Writer / Director / Producer Garin Hovannisian

Garin Hovannisian is the internationally acclaimed author of the memoir Family of Shadows (Harper Collins). His essays and stories have appeared in the Los Directors’ Statement Directors’ Angeles Times, New York Times, and other publications.

Writer / Director / Producer Alec Mouhibian

Alec Mouhibian is a writer, comedian, and most recently the co-star of the feature

documentary HEAL AMERICA. He has written for Slate, The Weekly Standard, and a Basic Information variety of other publications, and has been a Media Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He lives in Los Angeles. Direction Hovannisian and Mouhibian, the founders of Bloodvine Media, have been collaborating on film and literary projects for more than ten years. 1915 is their feature film debut. Creative Team Creative Producer Terry Leonard

Terry Leonard has produced more than 35 feature films over his 14-year career. Highlights include HOUNDDOG, COLD COMES THE NIGHT, HOW TO BE A MAN, ALLEGIANCE, BEFORE I DISAPPEAR, THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, MATCH, Social Media STEPHANIE DALEY, and AMIRA & SAM.

Leonard graduated from Emerson College with a BFA in Film, and started his career by producing short films at NYU, one of which won the esteemed King Award. His features have won awards and acclaim from the Directors Guild of America, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Independent Spirit Awards.

An active member of the Producers Guild and the DGA, Leonard also produces

commercials for a number of high-end clients through his company Strongman. Historical Timeline He splits his time between New York City and Los Angeles.

1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Creative Team

Music

“1915 is an incredible feature film full of rich trauma, profundity, suspense, and some magic all while remaining picturesque and modern – a rarity in today's films. I am relishing in creating the musical world for it." Statement Directors’

Serj Tankian is a Grammy Award winning musician and anti-Genocide activist. He is internationally acclaimed as the band leader of , as well as carrying out various solo projects. Basic Information Tankian is also the award-winning composer of the symphonies Elect the Dead and Orca. In 2002, he co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, . He also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records.

Tankian will compose an Original Score for 1915. Direction

Cinematography

Leigh Lisbão Underwood (Winner, Best Cinematography at Palm Springs

International Shortfest, 2013, for THE BOY SCOUT) Team Creative

Production Design

Michael Fitzgerald (THE LAST FIVE YEARS, SWELTER, THE SECRET LIVES OF DORKS, AROUND THE BLOCK) Social Media

Costume Design

Lauren Oppelt (THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW ON BROADWAY, THERESA IS A MOTHER)

Editing Historical Timeline

Paul Forte (FIX, WHAT ABOUT LOVE) & Dan Dobi (LE MONDE NOUS APPERTIENT)

Technical Info TRT – 80 minutes Exhibition Format – DCP, DVD, Blu-Ray, HD CAM Aspect Ratio – 1.85:1 Shooting Format – Arri Alexa 2K ProRes 1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Social Media Campaign #1915TheMovie, #EndYourDenial, #ArmenianGenocide, #Remember1915 Directors’ Statement Directors’ Basic Information Direction

Stay connected Team Creative Follow this production on all social media platforms. You can find additional information on release dates and film updates for 1915 The Movie on our website.

Website http://1915themovie.com/ Social Media For press inquiries please contact: [email protected]

Community Outreach Historical Timeline 1915 The Movie will be released in the spring of 2015, as the Armenians prepare to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Massive demonstrations of protest and remembrance will take place in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Moscow, Yerevan, and major cities across the world.

The creative team behind our movie will be on the frontlines of that movement. Both as highly respected community leaders and internationally recognized artists, the creators of 1915 The Movie are ready to make the 100th anniversary count. Together with influential partners in the media, 1915 THE MOVIE educational institutions, and NGOs, we will spearhead a global conversation #ENDYOURDENIAL about all genocides—a combined struggle of film and justice. 1915themovie.com PRESS KIT Historical Timeline Armenian Genocide Timeline

April 24, 1915: In Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, hundreds of Armenian community leaders, clergymen, and intellectuals are rounded up and slaughtered in the night. Directors’ Statement Directors’ Summer 1915: Under cover of world war, Turkish soldiers escort millions of unarmed civilian Armenians out of their towns and villages. The systematic deportation and slaughter of the Armenian people is accomplished. International news accounts, photographs, and official government archives undeniably confirm what US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau on the ground calls a “campaign of race extermination.” The word “genocide” does not yet exist. The government of Turkey begins its century-long denial of the Armenian

Genocide. The survivors of the Genocide, and their descendants across the world, Basic Information begin their quest for recognition, restitution, and justice.

March 15, 1921: As part of , survivor Soghomon Tehlirian assassinates , one of the three masterminds of the Genocide, in

Berlin. After a sensational trial, the German jury acquits Tehlirian. Direction

August 22, 1938: On the eve of the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler comforts his concerned generals: “Who today speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

1943: Polish-Jewish legal scholar Raphael Lemkin, who had been present at Tehiliran’s trial, coins the word “genocide” and applies it to the atrocities

committed against the Armenians in 1915. Team Creative

As genocides, mass murders, and crimes against humanity plague the globe, the government of Turkey continues its denial of the “events of 1915.” Although France, Germany, , Canada, and 18 other governments recognize the Armenian Genocide, many strategic allies of Turkey, including the , maintain a policy of silence on the issue. After President Ronald Reagan, who

spoke openly of the genocide of the Armenians, all US presidents have carefully Social Media avoided using the word, while the Turkish lobby in Washington succeeds in narrowly defeating the Armenian Genocide resolutions frequently introduced in Congress.

September 1992: As foreign minister of Armenia, Raffi K. Hovannisian—also the Executive Producer of 1915 —defies the Genocide taboo and calls the “Armenian Genocide” by name at a Council of Europe summit in Istanbul (Constantinople). Historical Timeline June 2005: The Turkish government enacts Article 301, which makes it a crime to “insult Turkishness,” which includes discussing the Armenian Genocide. Turkey’s own Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, Armenian intellectual-journalist Hrant Dink, and others are prosecuted for this crime. Later, Dink is murdered in broad daylight in front of his newspaper offices in Istanbul.

April 24, 2015: A century of genocides, mass murders, and crimes against humanity comes to a close. A global consensus builds to recognize and bring justice to the victims of all genocides.

1915 THE MOVIE #ENDYOURDENIAL 1915themovie.com