documenting the documentarian
documenting the documentarian: j. michael hagopian by paul chaderjian spring 1998 The images are haunting, familiar, yet still powerful - a long line of deportees ordered to the Syrian desert by Talaat, a display of decapitated heads of men who once talked, smiled, of intellectuals and artists whose lives were cut short by the Ottoman noose. The narration behind the pictures is disturbing, meticulously scripted by a survivor of the catastrophe. Together, the story they tell is of man’s inhumanity to man, a story of strength, survival and character - the story of the Armenians. The prolific filmmaker bringing history alive through his words and pictures is 84-year-old J. Michael Hagopian. The Southern California resident was hidden in a well by his parents when their lives were in danger in 1915; his childhood dreams were to emulate Katch Vartan and Zoravar Antranig, to conquer the homeland and kick out the Turks. In 1998, Hagopian is celebrating his 50th anniversary as a docume...