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3 Prominent Armenian Leaders Join Acclaimed Producers of ‘Motherland’ Documentary Feature Film about Artsakh & Armenia

December 12,2021 15:03

Washington D.C. Attorney & Genocide-Prevention Advocate as Newest Members of Motherland Production Team

Lilit Dolkarian Odabashian, Dr. Nishan Odabashian and Jacob Bournazian, Esq., member of the Knights of Vartan genocide-education and prevention organization, now on board with Motherland’s select group of filmmakers and human rights leaders that includes Mark Geragos and Sam Kbushyan

‘Because there’s painfully little coverage of last year’s events in Artsakh and the current situation facing the Armenian people, helping to produce a rare and globally important documentary film such as Motherland is more than a privilege—for myself and my husband, Nishan, it is a moral imperative.’

 

LOS ANGELES—Three prominent leaders in the Armenian American community, Lilit Dolkarian Odabashian, Dr. Nishan Odabashian, and Attorney Jacob Bournazian, have teamed up with the acclaimed producers of Motherland, a much-anticipated, feature-length documentary film that’s expected to blow the lid off of Azerbaijan’s concerted campaign of violence, deception and burgeoning genocide against the Armenian civilians of Artsakh.

Lilit Dolkarian Odabashian and Dr. Nishan Odabashian, who in addition to their new roles as film producers, are founders of the popular marketplace, BuyArmenian.com, are supporting the production of filmmaker-journalist and Los Angeles-based national radio host, Vic Gerami’s penetrating investigation into the global community’s impotent response to war crimes being committed on a daily basis by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s military as enabled and augmented by a cadre of regional allies led by Turkish forces under the control of Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Attorney Jacob Bournazian will assume the role of contributing producer for the film. Mr. Bournazian’s work with Knights of Vartan as an indefatigable defender of human rights and communities under threat of genocide make him a uniquely qualified and energetic new member of the Motherland team.

“Motherland is now in post-production, and without giving away our story, I can confidently say this film is turning out to be a chilling, visual human drama that pierces an opaque and terrifying situation in Artsakh,” says director and executive producer, Vic Gerami.

“The additions of Lilit and Dr. Odabashian as executive producers plus Jacob Bournazian also joining our stellar group of film producers, I’m more confident than ever that we’ll be releasing an important work of documentary journalism that could change lives by helping to grow the number of ordinary people around the world who understand that genocide is happening today in Artsakh.”

Following Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s attack on the independent Republic of Artsakh during the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of profoundly negative impacts to the economies of Artsakh and Armenia, the Odabashians set out to help their motherland by creating an online marketplace for goods made in Armenia. Among the unique, quality-made wares available at the couple’s buyarmenian.com marketplace are gorgeous Armenian-made wearable fashions, striking works of art, irresistible and authentic Armenian foods, home goods, and much more. The couple’s primary aim is to help improve the local economy by opening new markets for Armenian products—while also creating jobs in Armenia and enriching economic activity in importing countries, such as the U.S.

“At the same time, we’re giving the world a taste of authentic Armenian culture,” says Dr. Odabashian. “The result is a vast and comprehensive online department store which has over one-thousand Armenian vendors and close to ten-thousand unique products from various industries. When my wife and business partner, Lilit and I learned that, in a similar spirit to what prompted us to establish buyarmenian.com, there was a film project underway to help shine a light on and to alleviate the existential challenges facing Armenian families in Artsakh and Armenia, we knew we wanted to be a part of Motherland, the film.”

Lilit Odabashian added that it’s “important and noteworthy” that Motherland has the support of many prominent elected officials, dignitaries, and organizations in the U.S. and beyond.

The couple explains that far from being a hard decision to make, joining the team producing a film to which none other than the city of Los Angeles has seen fit to grant support felt intuitively right. Likewise, multiple leading members of Congress have granted interviews that will feature prominently in Motherland.

Lilit and Dr. Nishan Odabashian say they’re privileged and blessed to have the opportunity and resources to be part of making this important film.

According to Motherland’s producers, front-and-center and even more compellingly than the film’s list of high-profile supporters, participants and willing interviewees – among them Congressman Adam Schiff (D–California) and Sen. Bob Mendez (D–New Jersey) – the real attraction that draws to it passionate support is the desperate need for sunlight to reveal the scale and the savagery of murders being committed in Artsakh by oil- and gas-wealthy Azerbaijan, as well as ever-present Turkey and both countries’ regional and strategic allies.

Lilit and Dr. Odabashian share positive feelings about doing their part to help the current situation in Artsakh. Newly minted Motherland contributing producer, Jacob Bournazian, is similarly enthused about the cinematic human rights effort.

“This film contributes to America’s awareness of the ongoing genocidal government actions by Turkey and Azerbaijan in their October, 2020 war against the Armenians in Artsakh,” Bournazian says. “The facts need to be reported to the American public and this film provides the facts Americans need to know.

Motherland, he says, will turn on floodlights to reveal a terrifying new technological innovation for those who see genocide as a legitimate foreign policy.

“For the first time in human history we saw the massacre of humans by machines. Genocide by machines, if left unchecked, is a growing threat facing humanity today. We need to break the silence and cover-up of Azerbaijan’s October 2020 war against Artsakh if we hope to end the crime of genocide in the 21st century. We are fortunate to have a courageous and dedicated film producer like Vic Gerami to document these war crimes so that Americans know what has already happened and speak out to end the ongoing genocide against the indigenous population in Artsakh.”

A Southern California ‘Who’s Who’ List of Filmmakers Goes National with New Producers

Adding national visibility, genocide education and prevention champion, Jacob Bournazian, an attorney in Washington D.C. along with the entrepreneurial Odabashians are now in league with renowned criminal-defense attorney, Mark Geragos and California State Commissioner Sam Kbushyan as Motherland producers.

Previously, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who secured a symbolically important grant from the City of Los Angeles for the film, congratulated Gerami, Geragos, and Motherland’s entire production team on recruiting Commissioner Kbushyan.

“With the addition of Sam, this team continues to impress,’ said Councilman O’Farrell. ‘This film will help give much-needed attention to the injustices in Artsakh.”

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