International“Finding Zabel Yesayan,” a film
Published: Thursday March 05, 2009
Zabel Yesayan.
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Yerevan - Finding Zabel Yesayan is an independent documentary made by Lara Aharonian, founder of the Women's Resource Center of Armenia, and Talin Suciyan, Yerevan correspondent for the Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, in collaboration with Utopiana. It will debut at the Yerevan State Puppet Theater on March 7.
"We wanted to make this film because Zabel Yesayan is very dear to both of our hearts," says Aharonian. "We want to generate a dialogue about her life, her work, and what she stands for."
The film begins with a look at the mysterious circumstances under which Yesayan died, and delves into an exploration of her life and work, placing the most emphasis on her life after moving to Soviet Armenia. It includes contributions from scholars such as Marc Nichanian, and even Yesayan's grandson and great-granddaughter, who the filmmakers were able to find in Armenia.
Finding Zabel Yesayan has been submitted to Armenia's Golden Apricot International Film Festival and the amateur filmmakers hope to eventually take it on tour to different Armenian communities in the diaspora. "We want to show the film and follow it with a discussion," says Aharonian. "The discussion part is very important because so many issues are interrelated with the image of Zabel Yesayan: women's issues, a dialogue between Armenia and the diaspora.... We want people to share their opinions once they learn about her life, especially the later years of her life in Soviet Armenia. For the most part, the diaspora forgot about Yesayan after she moved to Armenia and we need to ask ourselves why. Addressing this question is the only way to bring about change. We study Krikor Zohrab and Charents, but why not Zabel Yesayan? Why not give her more importance in our programs, our schools, our communities. We need role models for young women in our communities."
And it doesn't end with the film. Through the Women's Resource Center, Aharonian and her colleagues have a lot of other projects concerning Zabel Yesayan and other Armenian women writers. They plan to republish and translate some of her works and highlight the works of writers such as Srpuhi Dusappe, a role model of Yesayan's, and Shushanik Kurghinian. "This is just the beginning of a movement," says Aharonian. "We are going to make posters of these women and distribute them to schools. We need to bring them all to life to show that Armenian women have a past, that we have intellectuals, writers, politicians, and artists."
Suggested reading: Victoria Rowe,
A History of Armenian Women's Writing 1880-1922
