LA Honors Armenian Actors in ‘Anora’ as Part of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

The Los Angeles City Council Friday commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and honored two Armenian American actors featured in “Anora,” this year’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture.

Councilman Adrin Nazarian led the council in recognizing the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He also introduced a resolution Tuesday marking April 24 as a Day of Remembrance for victims.

As per the resolution, Armenians residing in their 3,000-year ancestral home in Eastern Asia Minor and across the Ottoman Empire faced intense oppression and harsh injustices between 1894 and 1896, including extensive killings, confiscations of land and possessions, along with rampant devastation. These atrocities occurred once more in 1909.

The Armenian Genocide started on April 24, 1915, when numerous Armenian intellectuals, businessmen, politicians, and religious figures were arrested in Constantinople. These events then escalated across the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia, as stated in the resolution.

Nazarian’s resolution states that the ruling regime of the Ottoman Empire, known as the “Young Turks,” planned and carried out atrocities against Armenians from 1915 to 1923.

An estimated 1,500,000 Armenians died as a result of torture, starvation and murder, and more than 500,000 people died in death marches into the Syrian Desert, the resolution states.

Nazarian, who is Armenian, noted that Los Angeles is home to the largest population of descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors outside of Armenia.

“The aftermath of the Armenian Genocide has been a testament to the strength and resilience of the Armenian people, who were forced to build new lives in new lands around the world, bravely moving forward in the face of unimaginable tragedy and preserving their ancient culture and sense of national identity,” the resolution reads.

Nazarian greeted Karren Karagulian, known for appearing in all of "Anora" director Sean Baker's movies which highlight the immigrant narrative in America, along with actor Vache Tovmasyan, a prominent figure in both Armenian cinema and television. This project marked Tovmasyan’s second venture into an American production with "Anora."

Nazarian mentioned that he extended invitations to the actors to acknowledge their achievements and emphasize the significance of Armenian presence in the entertainment industry.