Producers Call on Individual Human Rights Supporters to Act: Join individual human rights champions now making small donations of $25 to $100 (or more!) to build global, life-saving awareness of people under siege in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
‘Just $50,000 in post-production needs stand between us and our goal of saving innocent lives by pressuring dictators to respect human dignity.’
‘Together, we can project a bright light that only great documentary filmmaking can shine onto the brutal military might that Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s dictators are today pressing down on Artsakh’s vulnerable, peace-loving children, women and men.’ — Vic Gerami, Producer-Director, ‘MOTHERLAND’
The producers of Motherland, a new documentary, feature-length film about the genocidal assault and the violent ethnic cleansing unleashed September 27, 2020 by Azerbaijan and Turkey against the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), have pulled back the cinematic curtain by welcoming public participation in post production of this landmark creative endeavor.
The release of a moving new preview trailer whose urgency is as palpable as the production’s just-launched Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, is inspiring people everywhere. As we speak, individuals are jumping in to help raise the remaining $50,000 needed to complete film’s post-production work—at the same time increasing worldwide awareness of families caught in the crosshairs of an unrelenting military onslaught.
Motherland is a 90-minute documentary film about Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s coordinated, systematic and wholly unprovoked genocidal attack and ethnic cleansing against the Armenians of Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh. Since September 27, 2020, Turkey and Azerbaijan have engaged in a highly sophisticated and lethal campaign of hate, violence, and disinformation against the Armenians.
Motherland is produced and directed by Los Angeles-based Armenian American journalist and activist, Vic Gerami. Gerami is founder and editor of The Blunt Post and host of the national radio show that focuses on politics titled, THE BLUNT POST with VIC on KPFK 90.7 FM, part of Pacifica Network.
“We are racing against time to bring much-needed attention to this humanitarian catastrophe and the imminent threat it poses to millions of innocent people,” says Gerami.
“Armenian and Artsakh people have a combined population of about three million; but Azerbaijan and Turkey have ninety million,” he continues. “It’s a genuine David versus Goliath nightmare.”
“Azerbaijani President Aliyev continually threatens Armenians with extermination and is currently negotiating to purchase two billion dollars’ worth of US weaponry. Turkey is building a much larger version of the Pentagon that Turkish President Erdogan promises to ‘strike fear to our enemies.”
21st Century Armenian Genocide in the Making
“We are trying to prevent another Armenian Genocide,” Gerami explains.
It took 106 years before the United States formally recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which was committed by Ottoman Turks.
On April 24, 2021, President Joe Biden became the first US president to recognize the Armenian genocide, officially — and to recommit America to its promise to prevent such an atrocity against humanity ever occurring again.
Yet tragically, history is repeating itself. Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s ongoing genocidal attack and ethnic cleansing against Armenians, as we’ve witnessed recently in Artsakh, is unrelenting.
Motherland tells the story of this ongoing and tragic chapter of human history as it was recently witnessed in Armenia and surrounding areas when Producer-Director Vic Gerami and his film crew capped a yearlong reporting and advocacy project by taking cameras on riveting location shoots near the scenes of what many are calling war crimes.
Unmatched Suffering, New Chapter of Regional Warfare
Azerbaijan, with declared assistance from Turkey, has launched a large-scale offensive against Artsakh. Employing thousands of Turkish-paid jihadist mercenaries airlifted from terrorist camps in Syria, Libya, and Pakistan, Azerbaijan’s war effort has been empowered by Erdogan to magnify the violence already being perpetrated by the Azerbaijani Army against innocent children, women and men who, previously, had lived peacefully for generations in Artsakh.
The 2020 invasion opened a new chapter in the history of regional warfare. The travesty has been marked by unmatched suffering anywhere on the planet today, which Artsakh’s civilian population currently endures on a daily basis. For 44 days, the world stood by, largely in silence, as more than 4,000 Armenians were massacred.
Motherland, currently in pre-post-production, has received broad support from some of America’s leading elected officials, including influential United States Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). A part of Sen. Menendez’s interview with Gerami is featured in the Motherland’s “sizzle,” also known as a preview trailer.
In that segment of the film, Sen. Menendez tells Gerami, “The [Trump] Administration turned a blind eye to what was happening.”
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) granted Gerami an on-camera interview for the film. A part of Rep. Schiff’s interview is featured in the sizzle. In it he explains, “Turkey’s role in importing mercenaries from Syria, and terrorists to join the mayhem demonstrate how Turkey’s actions are incompatible with being a NATO ally.”
Funds donated via Kickstarter will be used to edit the film and prepare it for wide-scale distribution.
“This a rare chance for individual people to make a real difference and to be a part of history,” Gerami says.
To contribute to Motherland’s Kickstarter campaign, please click here or visit, www.kickstarter.com. For more information, please visit the film’s website, MotherlandDoc.com. High-resolution photos and headshots can be found here.
Vic Gerami is available for interviews. You can contact him at 310.880.8563 or vic@thebluntpost.com.
