“Aurora’s sunrise”

A survivor’s journey from bloodshed to the red carpet

An award-winning audience favorite at film festivals around the world

& Armenia’s official entry to the 95th academy awards

For “Best international feature film”

OFFICIAL TRAILER

SYNOPSIS

At only 14 years old, Aurora lost everything during the horror of the Armenian Genocide. Four years later, through luck and extraordinary courage, she escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation. Starring as herself in Auction of Souls, an early Hollywood blockbuster, Aurora became the face of one of the largest and most successful charity campaigns in American history.

With a blend of vivid animation, interviews with Aurora herself, and 18 minutes of surviving re-discovered footage from her lost silent epic, Aurora’s Sunrise revives a forgotten story of survival, hope, and the endurance of the human spirit.


A cinematographic work that aims to prevent the Armenian genocide from being forgotten.
— FIFDH Geneva
An epic reconstruction of the story of Aurora Mardiganian and the Armenian genocide.
— Movies That Matter
...to make even the most painful [story] full of inspiration and hope. Memory, truth, together with imagination. I think that’s what this film is.
— Orwa Nyrabia, Artistic Director of IDFA
...a convincing story elegantly told, through archives, animation, and fiction, about a little-known genocide that sheds light and awareness on today’s political tensions and challenges.
— MiradasDoc
The remarkable life of Armenian genocide survivor Aurora Mardiganian is turned into a gripping animation.
— Screendaily

DIRECTOR

INNA SAHAKYAN

PRODUCERS

Vardan Hovhannisyan

Christian Beetz

Inna Sahakyan

Juste Michailinaite

Kestutis Drazdauskas

Eric Esrailian


FILM DETAILS

Country: Armenia, Germany, Lithuania

Year: 2022

Language: Armenian (Western), Turkish, English, German, Kurdish

Duration: 94 mins

Genre: Documentary, Animation, Drama

Screening format: DCP 4K

International sales (excl. USA):


...the excellent Aurora’s Sunrise, [is] a film that both chronicles a horrendously dark chapter in the world but also speaks to the value of filmmaking in the first place.
— RogerEbert.com
Aurora’s Sunrise is a beautifully made film which captures the spirit and extraordinary
scale of an unimaginable journey.
— Atom Egoyan, Arsinée Khanjian
...poetic and deeply moving documentary that recreates Mardiganian’s harrowing tale in ways that Hollywood could never imagine.
— POV Magazine
This standout documentary combines archival footage and animated re-enactments to share one survivor’s memories... A reconstructed, yet still personal record of a long-unrecognized genocide.
— The New York Times
Mardiganian was outspoken about the atrocities her people faced and her story shouldn’t be
forgotten.
— Los Angeles Times
A powerful, accessible blend of animation and archive that bears witness to the Armenian
genocide through the eyes of survivor and Hollywood silent star Aurora Mardiganian.
— The Film Verdict
Unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Incredibly powerful and insightful story and also visually stunning - the blend of animation, recovered footage and new interview was so unique.
— Europa Film Festival

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This film was made possible with the academic contribution of  the Zoryan Institute and is based on its Oral History Archive