A new film produced by The Genocide Education Project (GenEd) was released this month for use in schools.

The 12 minute documentary, "The Armenian Journey: From Despair to Hope in Rhode Island" tells the story of Armenian Genocide survivor Margaret Garabedian Der Manuelian, told through the narrative voice of her great-granddaughter, 21 year old Dalita Getzoyan.

The film was funded by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and designed to support educators in the region. The film will be accompanied by a resource guide for teachers to build a classroom assignment connected to the film. In May, GenEd will conduct teacher-training workshops on the Armenian Genocide and how to incorporate the film in their instruction.

GenEd's Education Director, Sara Cohan, and film producer-director Armen Varadian of AMV Creative production company, produced the film with the support of Pauline Getzoyan and Esther Kalajian, co-directors of GenEd's Rhode Island branch. Getzoyan is the granddaughter of the film's subject, Margaret Garabedian Der Manuelian, who escaped the Armenian Genocide and immigrated to Rhode Island in 1928. Additional support was provided by George Aghjayan, who provided historical data, and Project Save, that offered photographic contributions.

"The Armenian Journey: From Despair to Hope in Rhode Island," traces Der Manuelian's testimony of survival of the Armenian Genocide and arrival in Rhode Island. The film also provides an introduction to the history of the Armenian Genocide and illuminates the impact of genocide denial on future generations. Getzoyan who is also an educator, said, "Capturing my grandmother's testimony in this manner will help to ensure the victims of the Armenian Genocide are remembered. I believe this is what my grandmother would have wanted."

GenEd recently provided "The Armenian Journey" along with other Armenian Genocide resources to producers of the "Khloe and Lamar" reality TV show, for their research in advance of the March 11th episode which included discussion of the Armenian Genocide. The film was also presented to youth attending the Day of Learning, a program for high school students about the Holocaust and patterns of genocide, sponsored by the Jewish Children and Family Services of San Francisco.

"We believe that providing educators with a video and instructional guide that fits their educational needs and classroom time limitations will help them teach about the Armenian Genocide in a way that allows students to engage on a more direct and personal level with the subject matter," said Raffi Momjian, GenEd's executive director.