- Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you a film about the incredible journey
of a young girl who escaped genocide in Armenia
and not only lived to talk about it,
but ended up coming to America and conquering Hollywood.
It's a remarkable story titled Aurora's Sunrise.
Aurora's Sunrise is an animated documentary
that tells the story of Aurora Mardiganian.
As a young girl during World War I,
Aurora lost her family to genocide.
She almost died herself, but instead was kidnapped
and sold into sexual slavery at the age of 14.
Thanks to a series of serendipitous events,
some good fortune, and her incredible will to survive,
Aurora ended up in America.
She had a new country, a new life,
and an incredible story to tell.
And she told it.
Her journey to America made the newspapers,
and eventually, she was discovered by Hollywood.
Aurora not only provided material
movie studios thought would be interesting;
she portrayed herself on screen.
She was convinced that if she was a visible presence
in the movie industry,
she could use her fame for good and help those in need.
The 1919 film was titled Auction of Souls
and was a smash.
Aurora became a star of the silent screen at 17.
Despite her age, she was true to her word.
Aurora relived her pain and started a campaign
to help other victims of genocide.
It's been said she saved the lives
of over 132,000 orphaned survivors.
The descendants of those she saved number in the millions.
Aurora's Sunrise was directed by Inna Sahakyan.
Like her leading lady, Sahakyan was also raised in Armenia.
Sahakyan used a stylistic blend of different mediums
including animation, archival footage,
interviews with Aurora as an older woman,
and restored footage from the actual film Auction of Souls.
The print of Auction of Souls was thought to be lost forever
until 18 minutes of footage surfaced in 1994.
What an incredible set of visual materials
to have at your disposal as a director.
The making of Aurora's Sunrise took seven years.
It was the first-ever animated documentary feature film
made in Armenia.
Sahakyan has an animation background
and thought the colors would enrich the reenactments
of Aurora's journey.
It also allowed her to better portray the expressions
and emotions of her characters.
If you're wondering how strong and resilient Aurora was,
when discussing her struggles and hardships
in an interview later in life,
she was asked if she would relive her experience
as opposed to just remember it.
She said yes.
Aurora's Sunrise starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.