LOS ANGELES—The UCLA Promise Armenian Institute, in collaboration with the Armenian Film Foundation, will present a special film screening of the remastered documentary, “Strangers in a Promised Land.” The screening will be held on Friday, November 15 at 7 p.m., at the UCLA James Bridges Theater.
“Strangers in a Promised Land” is a documentary focusing on the struggles of Armenian immigrants arriving in California in the early 1900s. This screening will also feature a conversation between a prominent member of the Fresno Armenian community, Mr. Bryan Bedrosian, and filmmaker Dr. Carla Garapedian of the Armenian Film Foundation, who worked on remastering the 40-year-old film.
Registration for this in-person only event is required and free. To attend the screening please RSVP online.
This hour-long documentary, directed by filmmaker J. Michael Hagopian in 1984, was partly funded by federal grants and tells the story of the struggles of the first Armenian settlers in Fresno as they tried to create a new life in the legendary Central Valley, home to the richest farmland in the world.
Himself an early resident of Fresno, Hagopian believed the Armenian experience in California reflected the universal experience of immigrants arriving in America from all over the world.
Narrated by former California Governor George Deukmejian, “Strangers in a Promised Land” includes, among others, the story of artists such as William Saroyan and Varaz Samuelian; the Seropian family, who were among the first Armenians to arrive in the region; Malcolm Markarian, the “fig king” of America; and the Bedrosians and Pakchoians, who became leaders in the raisin industry.
The success of “Strangers in a Promised Land” helped Hagopian and the Armenian Film Foundation to launch a campaign to interview as many survivors of the Armenian Genocide as possible, leading to an archive of nearly 400 testimonies – now available at the Visual History Archive within the USC Shoah Foundation.
This event is co-sponsored by the Ararat-Eskijian Museum and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research.
UCLA James Bridges Theater is located at 235 Charles E Young Dr. E, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Visitor parking available at UCLA Parking Structure 3.
For more information, please contact The UCLA Promise Armenian Institute at armenian-info@international.ucla.edu, (310) 569-6325, or visit the Institute’s website.
