THE WITNESSES TRILOGY is a series of three documentary films written, directed and produced by Dr. J. Michael Hagopian and based on his filmed interviews of 400 survivors of and eyewitnesses to the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Dr. Hagopian chronicles the near extinction of the Armenian people against the sweeping canvas of the lack of human rights and the absence of democratic traditions and principles in the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The films document the Turkish leaders’ actions as a unified and systematic program of annihilation of the Armenian homeland in the Turkish Ottoman Empire, with transportation of Armenian deportees by rail to the far reaches of the Der Zor desert, and massacres and ethnic cleansing operations along the Euphrates River.

The Witnesses Trilogy is available to view or for purchase as a set or individually:

 

For purchase - Armenian Film Foundation Store

For purchase - Amazon

For purchase or viewing - Amazon Prime - Voices from the Lake - Germany and the Secret Genocide - The River Ran Red

VOICES FROM THE LAKE (87 minutes)

Twenty five years in research and production, the first feature-length documentary film on the Armenian Genocide focuses on the day-to-day tragedy unfolding in Kharpert-Mezreh, one among 4,000 towns and villages of the former Ottoman Empire in 1915, where monumental forces were unleashed by a policy of annihilation.

The global humanitarian dimensions of the cataclysmic event are recorded by eyewitness accounts of American and European officials, missionaries, and educators, and by Armenian survivors. These are revealed for the first time through censored reports, classified documents and hidden diaries. Amazingly, scratched-out journals have been decoded with the help of modern digital technology. View trailer >>

“A unique achievement…the most comprehensive and authoritative case study of the Armenian Genocide in print or film!”
–Noted Genocide Historian Hilmar Kaiser

WINNER BRONZE CHRIS AWARD
Columbus Film Festival

 

GERMANY AND THE SECRET GENOCIDE (60 minutes)

Distinguished academic experts and eyewitnesses recount horrors of the planned genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish Ottoman government against the backdrop of World War I. Using rare archival footage, the film chronicles the involvement of Turkey’s economic and military ally, Germany, in the first genocide of the 20th Century. Some Germans who were involved during the Armenian Genocide later joined the Nazi party and served under Hitler. View trailer >>

 

"Rigorously researched and a damning indictment......a notable and persuasive film....a warm-up to the Holocaust.:

-- Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
 

WINNER FIRST PLACE GOLDEN CAMERA AWARD

History Category - 2004 U.S. International Film and Video Festival

THE RIVER RAN RED (60 minutes)

The River Ran Red is the epic search for survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 along the Euphrates River. From his archives of 400 testimonies of survivors and eyewitnesses, award-winning filmmaker J. Michael Hagopian weaves a compelling story of terrifying intensity, taking the viewer from the highland waters of the river to the burning deserts of Syria... and to the final resting place of those whose blood ran red in the waters of the Euphrates. View trailer >>

 

WINNER BEST INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

2009 New York International Film & Video Festival

 

FEATURED FILM

2008 ARPA International Film Festival