Scars of Silence

In May of 2012, Armenian-American father and daughter Nubar and Abby Alexanian embarked on a journey to commemorate the Armenian Genocide (1915–1923) as a powerful act of reparative rebellion. They traveled to their ancestral home in eastern Turkey—a place where their family was systematically killed and displaced by Ottoman Turks. Their intention was to create, not only a right of return, but a site of return as a step toward healing and connection to their obscured familial past.

What is revealed is the legacy of the Genocide on a contemporary Armenian family that continues to permiate today. The work brings to the surface the profound consequences of Turkish denial—psychological and political—that have contributed to the subconscious suppression of loss for two generations. Scars of Silence offers a timely and provocative personal account of what it means to be Armenian today, and how identity can be so profoundly changed by claiming a moral place in the world.

A personal documentary that reveals the powerful legacy genocide has had on a contemporary Armenian family, and how a father and daughter transcend a century of silence and denial to make peace with their family’s tragic past. Errol Morris Executive Producer As the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian genocide approaches, an Armenian-American father and daughter embark on a journey to commemorate the genocide with a powerful act of reparative rebellion. As crazy as it may be, Nubar and Abby Alexanian are going to try to purchase the ancestral land that had been owned by their family before the Ottoman Turks systematically killed and displaced their family, and millions of others. What is revealed in this provocative 60-minute personal documentary is both the legacy of the genocide on a contemporary Armenian family, and the ways that the persecution of the Armenian people continues to be perpetuated today. Given that the Turkish Government is still denying the staggering act of inhumanity they perpetrated against the Armenians, and the fact that American history books and media outlets have barely touched upon the complexities of what happened 100 years ago and its continuing effects – psychological and political – Scars of Silence will provide a timely and thought provoking personal account of what it means to be Armenian today, and how their identity, meaning and moral place in the world has been so profoundly changed.