Los Angeles, CA - January 2, 2018 -
New Year, new emerging filmmakers, and hopes for a new future.
In honor of the New Year and Armenian Christmas quickly approaching on January 6th, TriCoast Entertainment is giving the holiday gift of Kara Kedi Films’ three-time award winning historical drama, “LOST BIRDS”, streaming on VOD platforms today, January 1st, 2018.
Written and directed by first-time emerging filmmakers, Ela Alyamac (“Fairy Dust”) and Aren Perdeci, “LOST BIRDS” is an Anatolian fairytale told through the point of view of brother and sister, Bedo and Maryam, as a revolutionary, historical children’s film for being the first Turkish production portraying the Armenian tragedy through the young, innocent eyes of children.
“LOST BIRDS” is an extraordinary feature length narrative following Maryam and Bedo, ages 7 and 8, who return home from their secret hideaway cave only to find the town to be isolated and empty, with no one in sight including their mother. As the first Turkish production to tackle the mass deportations of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire of 1915, “LOST BIRDS” follows the children and their bird ‘Bacik’ on a risky and dangerous journey to find their mother.
In an interview with Simone Zoppellaro Yerevan, Aren Perdeci provided background and insight on his personal Turkish background – being raised in Istanbul, his family influence and history, as well as his overall role of his Armenian identity.
“I was born and grew up in Istanbul. I went to a Turkish, then French school in Istanbul. So I had a Turkish and French education. At home I was raised and learned the traditions from my grandmother, mother and father. The topic of 1915 was never confronted in my home, and it was kept a secret. After we decided to write this screenplay, the first story my mother told me was the sad story of Armenak (who was taken away in Konya in 1915) and how her family moved to Istanbul because they had to give up their beautiful house to the military to be used as headquarters in Konya. Because of this reason, they had survived,” reflected Aren Perdeci.
‘Armenian Christmas’ falls on January 6th as a culmination of events related to Christ’s Incarnation with highly placed significance on Epiphany, meaning “revelation of God” as the central theme of the Christmas Season in the Armenian Church. On January 6th, Armenians participate in the major feast and ceremony, “Blessing of Water”, at Church to signify Christ’s Baptism. Because there is no exact date of Christ’s birth, historically, several Christian churches until the fourth century celebrated Christ’s birth on January 6th, as the Armenians continue to remain faithful to the traditions of their forefathers. (Hrath Tchilingirian)
As a way of honoring and signifying the magnitude of the 1915 Armenian tragedy, as the filmmakers aimed to provide the most realistic depiction of the Ottoman Empire during 1915 by reading dozens of books and doing extensive research, alongside experts, Vahe Tachjian from Berlin and Yetvart Tomasyan from Istanbul.
With film locations in real Anatolian locations, Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci successfully recreated the Armenian Ottoman village square from 1914, full of realistic market places and coffee shops that displayed the architectural designs, doors, chimneys, and even costume buttons and fork and knives.
Further, Aren Perdeci reported to Bill Higgins at The Hollywood Reporter that “they wanted to make a film so people would know what was lost and tell it in a way that also the Turkish could relate to."
TriCoast Entertainment says ‘Shnorhavor Amanor yev Surb Tznund' (Armenian for ‘Happy/Merry Christmas’) with the VOD release of “LOST BIRDS” today to honor the upcoming Armenian Christmas celebration on January 6th, with the filmmakers’ hopes that “LOST BIRDS” ‘will help people to share and discuss their own stories after they watch the film, and build a bridge between people who once lived on this land in harmony,” said Ela Alyamac to Simone Zoppellaro Yerevan.
“LOST BIRDS” stars several breathtaking, first-time actors, including the emotional capture of innocence through children eyes by Heros Agopyan as ‘Bedo’ and Dila Uluca as ‘Maryam’. Alongside is Sarkis Acemyan as ‘Grandpa Yetvart’, Arto Arsenyan as ‘Father Mesrop’, and Takuhi Bahar as ‘Kinar’.
Stream “LOST BIRDS” today, January 1st on VOD platforms: iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation, Hoopla, Vudu, DISH/Sling, and InDemand.
Watch the trailer for “LOST BIRDS” here: https://vimeo.com/201209025.
For more information, please visit the film’s official site: http://www.lostbirdsfilm.com/.
LOST BIRDS (2017, 90 min.) Written and directed by Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci. Editor: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci. Cinematographer: Aren Perdeci. Sound department: Eli Haligua, Burak Topalakci, Caglar Yesilay. US. English. Kara Kedi Films, TriCoast Entertainment.
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Kara Kedi Films
About TriCoast Entertainment:
A new home for story-driven American films, TriCoast Entertainment is a full service media company that creates, produces, manages and distributes unique and unusual entertainment. Bringing together filmmakers, distributors, financiers, and technologists, TriCoast Entertainment embraces change by redefining the production and distribution model for indie filmmakers, providing them with low cost tools, financing, and worldwide theatrical and digital distribution, along with market feedback and storytelling opportunities.
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