PODCAST | Federica Scarpa interviews Inna Sahakyan, director of the film Aurora’s sunrise.
In 1919 Hollywood made a film, Action of Souls, about the Armenian Genocide. The film’s protagonist was Aurora Madrigan, a true survivor who tried in every way to spread her story, to let the world know what was happening in her country in those years. Shortly after that, the film disappeared, and in 1994 only 18 minutes were found. Director Inna Sahakyan tells us about Madrigan’s dramatic struggle to survive the Genocide, about a mysterious missing film, and about the power of cinema to become the storyteller and keeper of history.
Aurora’s sunrise: Aurora lost everything during the Armenian Genocide. Four years later, she escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation, starring as herself in Auction of Souls. With a blend of animation, interviews, and surviving footage from her lost silent epic, Aurora’s Sunrise revives a forgotten story. The film was presented at the latest Annecy International Animation Film Festival and is Armenia’s candidate at the Oscar 2023.