Aurora's Sunrise
Film poster
Directed byInna Sahakyan
Written byPeter Liakhov
Kerstin Meyer-Beetz
Inna Sahakyan
Produced byArevik Avanesyan
Christian Beetz
Kestutis Drazdauskas
Eric Esrailian
Angela Frangyan
Nvard Ghazaryan
Vardan Hovhannisyan
Kathrin Isberner
Sona Margaryan
Juste Michailinaite
Yelizaveta Petrosyan
Khane Poghosyan
Inna Sahakyan
Astghik Sayadyan
Anna Ter-Gabrielyan
Anna Zakaryan
CinematographyVardan Brutyan
Edited byRuben Ghazaryan
Music byChristine Aufderhaar
Production
companies
Bars Media
Broom Films
Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion
Release date
June 16, 2022 (Annecy)
Running time
96 minutes
CountriesArmenia
Germany
Lithuania
LanguagesArmenian
English
Turkish
Kurdish
German

Aurora's Sunrise (Armenian: Արշալույսի լուսաբացը) is a 2022 internationally co-produced adult animated documentary film directed by Inna Sahakyan. It is based on the life of Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who after her escape became an actress in the United States. The film includes short scenes of the film Auction of Souls, a silent film from 1919 on the Armenian Genocide, in which Aurora Mardiganian had the leading role.[1]

Synopsis

Aurora Mardiganian was born into a large family in Eastern Anatolia. After her father was killed, her family was sent on to death marches where many of her relatives died. She was then sold into a Turkish harem from where she eventually manages to flee first to St.Petersburg in Russia and later to New York. There, her biography became some sort of a success and a book was written about it and a film was produced about the Armenian Genocide in which Mardiganian played the leading role.[2]

Production

Inna Sahakyan began its development in 2014 but she had no prior experience in making an animated film.[1] Since 2015 the Zoryan Institute supported the realization of the film by signing an agreement with Bars Media.[3] The Zoryan Institute provided interviews with Aurora Mardiganian, recorded before Mardiganian's death.[4] The decision to make an animated documentary from her story, was motivated because animation enabled much more freedom in expression techniques.[1] Armenian colors and symbols were included in the film[1] and the paper cutout CG animation technique was used, where only a few frames per second are animated.[5] The film began to be produced in 2019, but the process was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and then also the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020.[1] At the time of the conflict the production was helped strongly by Lithuanians and the Germans.[6] The film is a co-production of Bars Media from Armenia, Broom Films from Lithuania and the Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion from Germany.[7]

Release

The film premiered in June 2022 when it was shown at the Annecy International Animation Festival.[8] It premiered in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia in November.[6] It is Armenia's entry to the Academy Awards for International Feature Film in 2023, becoming the second animated documentary film to be nominated for that section after Flee from Denmark in 2022.[6][5][9] Unlike Flee, it was not selected as a nominee for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

On October 23, 2023, the film will be broadcast on the American channel PBS through its POV television series.[10]

Awards and recognition

Critical Response

Since premiering in June 2022 the film has had mostly positive reviews from critics, currently holding a high score on film and television review-aggregation websites Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd.[18][19] Brian Tallerico, managing editor of RogerEbert.com, awarded Aurora's Sunrise three and a half out of four stars, describing the film as 'a stunning hybrid that melds animation, interview footage with its subject, and a 1919 silent film once thought lost to history that’s about her life' and 'a reminder that film doesn't just record history, it can transport us through it.'[20] The film made The New York Times "Critic's Pick" list prior to the start of its limited theatrical run in North America, with critic Teo Bugbee calling Aurora's Sunrise a 'standout documentary.'[21]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Richter, Marina D. (2022-11-22). "In talk with Inna Sahakyan: "Aurora's story was very unique"". ubiquarian. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  2. ↑ Ide, Wendy (15 June 2022). "'Aurora's Sunrise': Annecy Review". Screen. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  3. ↑ "Zoryan Institute's Oral History Testimony of 1915 Armenian Genocide Survivor Comes to Life on the Big Screen Through Animated Documentary". Zoryan Institute. 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  4. ↑ "AURORA'S SUNRISE". Nacional Cinema Center of Armenia. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  5. 1 2 Aguilar, Carlos (2022-12-13). "The 'Flee' Effect: Could Two More Animated Docs Vie for Multiple Oscars?". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  6. 1 2 3 Martirosyan, Lucy (26 December 2022). "New animation about 'Armenia's Anne Frank' up for Oscar". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  7. ↑ "Aurora's Sunrise". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  8. ↑ "EWA supported project by Inna Sahakyan, Aurora's Sunrise, to its Annecy Premiere". EWA Women. 2022-05-09. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  9. ↑ Schwartz, William (2022-11-16). "The Rise of the Hybrid Animated Political Documentary". Book and Film Globe. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  10. ↑ Carey, Matthew (4 May 2023). "PBS Series 'POV' Reveals Film Lineup For 36th Season, Packed With Oscar Contenders, Award Winners". Deadline. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Aurora's Sunrise: Armenia's Oscars submisdion wins Audience Award at Animation Is Film Festival". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  12. ↑ "Best animated film: 'Aurora's Sunrise' film won an award". www.1lurer.am. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  13. ↑ Fuente, Anna Marie de la (2023-02-05). "Armenian Oscar Submission 'Aurora's Sunrise' Wins Top MiradasDoc Prize". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  14. ↑ "Movies that Matter Audience Award". Movies that Matter. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  15. ↑ "Aurora's Sunrise: Animation on Armenian Genocide wins Audience Award at Movies that Matter Festival". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  16. ↑ "Armenian production 'Aurora's Sunrise' wins Grand Prize at FIFDH". euronews. 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  17. ↑ "Aurora's Sunrise shines bright in international film festival circuit". The Armenian Weekly. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  18. ↑ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/auroras_sunrise
  19. ↑ https://letterboxd.com/film/auroras-sunrise/
  20. ↑ "Aurora's Sunrise". RogerEbert.com. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  21. ↑ "'Aurora's Sunrise' Review: A Patchwork Record of the Armenian Genocide". The New York Times. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
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