The Film 'Aurora's Dawn' About the Armenian Genocide Wins an Award

'Aurora's Dawn' has won an award in the 'Best Animated Film' category at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. This information was announced by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia.

In the 'Best Animated Film' category, five films competed. This high-caliber cinema award is equivalent to the Oscars in the Asia-Pacific region, where the best films are chosen and awarded.

'Aurora's Dawn' documents the odyssey of Arshalouis Martikian (Aurora Mardiganyan), a young girl who escaped the Armenian Genocide and found refuge in the United States with the support of General Andranik and the American Committee for Relief in the Near East.

Footage from the silent film 'Auction of Souls,' shot in Hollywood in 1919, has been restored and incorporated into the film, where Arshalouis portrays herself to direct the film's proceeds toward rescuing Armenian orphans left homeless by the genocide.

The film lays the foundation for the charitable campaign of the American Committee for Relief in the Near East, which raised over $116 million, allowing care for more than 132,000 Armenian orphans.

'Aurora's Dawn' is based on the true story of a real person, while simultaneously reflecting the general context of the time. It combines two unique documentary interviews of the heroine, preserved fragments from 'Auction of Souls,' archival materials, and animated aesthetic solutions.

This documentary-animated film, produced with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and the National Cinema Center of Armenia, is a co-production of Armenia, Germany, and Lithuania (production companies: Bars Media, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Artbox Laisvalaikio Klubas). The film has also received support from Eurimages, Europe's largest film fund, with Armenia acting as the major co-producer. The film was created with the scientific support of the Zoryan Institute and based on the Oral History Archive of the Armenian Genocide. Director and screenwriter: Inna Sahakyan, producers: Vardan Hovhannisyan, Christian Bitz, Juste Michailinaite.