Online Screening of "The Stateless Diplomat: Diana Apcar's Heroic Life" + Q&A with the Director, Mimi Malayan

Department: Armenian Studies

Date and Time: October 13, 2020 - October 14, 2020 | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

Event Location: Zoom

Event Details


Please join us for the online screening of the documentary film "The Stateless Diplomat: Diana Apcar's Heroic Life" and a live Q&A with the filmmaker, Mimi Malayan.

The film will be screened online for 24 hours via Vimeo between October 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm (PST) to October 14, 2020 at 6:00 pm (PST). No registration is required to view the movie.

Stream on Vimeo:

English only version: https://vimeo.com/432917771
      
With Armenian subtitles version: https://vimeo.com/432886849

Please be advised that you will not be able to view this film right now. It will only be made available for streaming for 24 hours between October 13, 2020, 6:00 pm to October 14, 2020, 6:00 pm.

The Q&A with the director will take place on October 14, 2020 at 7:00-8:00 pm (PST) via Zoom. Registration is required.

Register here for the Q&A Zoom Webinar: (http://bit.ly/StatelessDiplomat)

This event is presented by UCI Center for Armenian Studies as part of The Vahe and Armine Meghrouni Lecture Series.

Film Synopsis:

Diana Apcar, consul to Japan from Armenia, was an idealistic Armenian woman living in Yokohama at the time when women and politics rarely coexisted. For years she tried to attract attention to the plight of the Armenians perishing under Ottoman rule, writing constantly.

Her books, articles, and letters to world leaders show her deep insight into world politics, blaming the European Powers for setting the framework to allow the Armenian Genocide, and forecasting continuing atrocities towards the Armenians. She pleads with her readers. But her voice remains unheard, and her worst predictions come true.

Some survivors flee to Russia only to find the country deep in revolution and civil war: “the only safe direction is east.” Many of the survivors have relatives in the U.S. and wish to join them; their hopes fade as they travel thousands of miles across Siberia. In Japan, Diana is eagerly helping these people. They are desperate, penniless, undocumented, and lost. Will they even be able to survive?

Contrasting textures and sounds of Japan, Russia, India, and the Ottoman Empire paint the picture of this dangerous journey, a story of loss and hope.






(Filmmaker, Mimi Malayan)