The ANCA Eastern Region\u2019s prestigious Freedom Award is given annually to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions toward issues that concern Armenian-Americans. Previous ANCA-ER Freedom Award recipients include: U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans; Pulitzer Prize winning author and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power; U.S. Senator Robert Menendez; the late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy; U.S. Senators Robert Dole and Elizabeth Dole; Baroness Caroline Cox; author Chris Bohjalian, renowned lawyer Robert Morgenthau and the Morgenthau family; Former House Majority Whip David Bonior and lawyer, writer, and human rights activist Fethiye \u00c7etin; President of Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan; U.S. Senator Mark Kirk; U.S. Senator Christopher Van Hollen, Jr; U.S. Senator Ed Markey and U.S. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.
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The Armenian National Committee of America-Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) will be honoring Eric Esrailian, lead producer of \u201cThe Promise,\u201d with the Freedom Award at its 12th annual gala on October 13th in New York City.<\/p>\n
Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH, is Co-Chief of the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He and the team at Survival Pictures were entrusted by the late Kirk Kerkorian to oversee the production of \u201cThe Promise,\u201d thereby fulfilling Kerkorian\u2019s dream of making a Hollywood film about the Armenian Genocide a reality. Despite the many obstacles in his path, Esrailian and his team persevered and delivered an epic film, helmed by fellow Freedom Award honoree, Academy Award winning director Terry George, that enlightened millions of theater-goers around the world about the history of the Armenian people, and continues to serve as an invaluable educational tool for viewers everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tremendously honored to be considered\u2014I don\u2019t feel deserving of any award, but I would just say that it\u2019s an honor and very humbling for me to have any kind of association with this film, and with my friend and partner Terry George, and really, with the ANCA and how the organization rallied for the film\u2026 not just \u2018The Promise,\u2019 but \u2018Intent to Destroy\u2019 and the bigger concept of us trying to accomplish something that had really never been done before on this scale,\u201d said Esrailian.<\/p>\n
Esrailian gives most of the credit to his predecessor in this tremendous undertaking, saying, \u201cI always believe that we have been standing on the shoulders of giants for this project. Mr. Kerkorian is the one who enabled this mission to be undertaken. He directed it, set everything in motion, and basically told us not to stop, no matter what\u2026 no matter what kind of opposition we would face.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that they did. Facing relentless opposition\u2014something the ANCA is all too familiar with\u2014the Survival Pictures team powered through. \u201cAlthough we anticipated a lot of opposition, obviously, it was still pretty overwhelming. Particularly with the internet campaign against the film, which definitely had an effect, whether people acknowledge it or not, because movie-goers tend to use reviews and rating systems to inform their decisions,\u201d said Esrailian, further acknowledging, \u201cThat, coupled with an organized intimidation campaign towards reviewers, entertainment writers, and studios\u2014and we have extensive evidence of this\u2014really had an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
But despite the denialists\u2019 best efforts, the film was seen by millions of people across the world, and continues to be screened across multiple networks and streaming services. That\u2019s a big win in Esrailian\u2019s book, and he credits organizations like the ANCA for helping to drum up support and secure audiences globally.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo speak up for truth, you need an organization like ANCA to basically push back and highlight truth when others try to cover it up,\u201d said Esrailian. \u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to see how the ANCA has rallied, not just behind our film, but for Armenians everywhere, everytime there is an issue that requires organization and support, and I\u2019ve been really impressed by the passion and dedication of the volunteers, as well as the staff, throughout the country.\u201d said Esrailian. He continued to reflect, \u201cI\u2019ve had the privilege of seeing the team in Los Angeles and DC and the entire Eastern Region work together\u2014they all have different skill-sets and areas of emphasis, but the core commonality is Armenian pride and wanting to do right by the Armenian nation, as a diaspora and as a Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esrailian, like many diasporan Armenians, is a descendant of Genocide survivors, but has quite an uncommon story\u2014his maternal great grandfather sang in the Gomidas choir alongside the legendary composer. As a result of being entrusted with this mission, Esrailian now feels further connected to his Armenian roots and thanks Mr. Kerkorian for that gift.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to Mr. Kerkorian for really taking charge and compelling us to make this film, because if it wasn\u2019t for him, I\u2019d have less of a connection to my heritage, being born in the United States and being very assimilated\u2014even though I\u2019m from a proud Armenian family,\u201d said Esrailian.<\/p>\n
That reconnection was one of Kerkorian\u2019s main goals. Esrailian continues, \u201cHe basically wanted us to create that same spirit for everyone. He viewed the film as a living museum that would stand the test of time. People were always asking him to support a museum, but he believed the movie would be the museum\u2014one that you go to as many times as you want, that will be there long after physical structures crumble.\u201d<\/p>\n
The filmmakers were also very mindful about the use of the film as a historic education tool. \u201cIt\u2019s just a window into our history. It\u2019s not meant to replace history books or further scholarship. It\u2019s meant to stimulate interest and hopefully instill a sense of pride,\u201d said Esrailian, underscoring Mr. Kerkorian\u2019s wishes to reconnect Armenians with their heritage.<\/p>\n
With countless young Armenians rediscovering their identity and connecting with one another more than ever before, Esrailian believes this is already taking place. \u201cI really feel like the impact of ANCA is going to be even further amplified in the next generation. We have so many Armenians that are now becoming more engaged with their heritage\u2014with the help of technology enabling people to better connect with one another and allow for more collaboration going forward, the potential for an organization like the ANCA is limitless\u2026 I think the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having worked in lock step with the ANCA in the entire campaign surrounding both films, Esrailian has an even deeper respect and understanding for the organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see, now more than ever, how challenging the day to day work is for the ANCA. Truly, you can tell that there is a wall of opposition against Armenians. But I also like to see the glass as half full\u2026 we have clearly shown that we\u2019ve made progress. A perfect example being the Smithsonian, and how several years ago the Armenian Orphan Rug was not allowed to be displayed. And now, we were able to be part of the Smithsonian Festival, with both films, with discussion and full elaboration on the facts of the Genocide. That\u2019s a dramatic shift, and I have no doubt that everything the ANCA and Armenians around the world did to support the film has made a difference. People are talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while the back-to-back release of both \u201cThe Promise\u201d and the subsequent documentary \u201cIntent to Destroy\u201d were the main focus of the public-facing awareness campaign, Esrailian was simultaneously also hard at work establishing The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA with colleagues, at the behest of Mr. Kerkorian.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the long term legacies of the film is the creation of what we hope to be the preeminent human rights institute for education, research and advocacy in the country. Right now, it\u2019s the hub for all of these activities at UCLA, and it\u2019s the perfect place to have that home as a public institution, one that Mr. Kerkorian supported in an incredible way,\u201d said Esrailian. \u201cAnd by sharing the name with the film, when people study human rights and learn about the treatment of others, and are conducting academic and scholarly work at the highest level, they\u2019re always going to be reminded of where it all started\u2014which was because of the Armenian Genocide, and the fact that we made a promise to never forget and we kept that promise to Mr. Kerkorian. And it\u2019s only just beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the establishment of The Promise Institute, UCLA is a hub of Armenian and human rights activity like never before. So much so that UCLA Chancellor Gene Block just visited Armenia for the first time with Esrailian, in an effort to formalize more collaboration with the Armenian people. Esrailian and Block met with the president, prime minister, and educational leaders in Armenia in<\/p>\n
order to discuss further collaborations with UCLA faculty, students, and the Los Angeles community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Armenian nation will always have a special place at UCLA\u2014there is a decades long tradition of Armenian Studies and a tremendous number of students, alumni and faculty, not to mention the location being in Los Angeles, home to such a prominent diasporan Armenian community\u2014it\u2019s the intersection of so many unique aspects that make our presence an organic reality,\u201d said Esrailian.<\/p>\n
According to Esrailian, the two films and the institute collectively have the same mission: To educate people about the true history of the Armenian people, to empower people to openly study and have a dialogue about all past and present human rights violations, and ultimately to prevent future atrocities from taking place. The films also spawned the #KeepThePromise campaign, and<\/p>\n
influencers from around the world rallied to support the film and the social impact messages around<\/p>\n
it. Esrailian believes that the work is just getting started.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concept of the \u2018Freedom Award\u2019 is tremendous because we really hope that the film will enable people to speak more freely about this subject, and human rights in general,\u201d said Esrailian, continuing, \u201cOur goals were very specific and it was to put the story out there on a major scale in a way that had not been possible before, and utilizing all of our relationships and collaborating with people in different industries to try to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide\u2014not focusing on ticket sales, reviews, and opinions of those who do not understand the big picture objectives\u2014but really trying to appeal to people who may never have heard of, or cared about, the Armenian Genocide\u2026 That\u2019s what enables a film to live forever and that, I believe, is part of the mission of this organization\u2014to support the Armenian people, Armenian culture, and raise awareness of our issues while highlighting our strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ANCA ER Gala will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in NYC. To purchase tickets or for more information on our honorees please visit this link or call 201-788-5425.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ANCA Eastern Region\u2019s prestigious Freedom Award is given annually to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions toward issues that concern Armenian-Americans. Previous ANCA-ER Freedom Award recipients include: U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans; Pulitzer Prize winning author and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power; U.S. Senator Robert Menendez; the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[127],"class_list":["post-15059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-anca-eastern-region"],"yoast_head":"\n