Aurora's Sunrise

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Aurora's Sunrise

2023

1h 36m

Documentary

Animation

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100%

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23 Reviews

100%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

In 1915, as WWI raged on, the Ottoman Empire singled out its entire Armenian population for destruction. Only 14 years old at the time, Aurora Mardiganian's story was tragically relatable. Forced onto a death march towards the Syrian desert, she lost her entire family before being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. Four years later, through luck and extraordinary courage, she escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation. Starring as herself in the silent epic "Auction of Souls," an early Hollywood blockbuster, Aurora became the face of one of the largest and most successful charity campaigns in American history, as one of the first women activists fighting against the injustices of war. With a blend of vivid animation, interviews with Aurora herself, and 18 minutes of surviving re-discovered footage from her lost silent epic, "Aurora's Sunrise" revives a forgotten story of survival, hope and the endurance of the human spirit.

Leslie Felperin

Guardian

Nov 20, 2023

4/5

A story which is full of wonder, tragedy, copious horrors and – finally – hope and wisdom.

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

Aug 21, 2023

In director Inna Sahakyan’s medium-bending Aurora’s Sunrise, the animation is essential, not just to understanding the story but to grasping its purpose.

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

Aug 11, 2023

3.5/4

A reminder that film doesn't just record history, it can transport us through it.

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Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

Jan 15, 2025

A little slow but overall compelling

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Paul Emmanuel Enicola

The Movie Buff

Jul 6, 2024

A-

A harrowing story of a survivor whose experiences were one of heartbreaking proportions; and which deserve to be told, not only to educate about the past, but also to remind people that the evils of the past need never be forgotten.

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Manuel Betancourt

FilmWeek (LAist)

Sep 7, 2023

In terms of subject matter it's enthralling and engaging, but I think it's trying to do a little bit too much.

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David

Sep 2, 2023

This amazing movie had beautiful animation that brought Aurora’s story to the big screen. This film is a great way for foreign audiences to see the struggle of the Armenian people.

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Bereket M

@Bexbalm Feb 23, 2025

Though I had some idea about the Armenian genocide the movie gave me a vivid picture of how it happened. The juxtaposition of cartoon, interview and historical footage to tell a cohesive and organic story very much commendable. A movie well organised and executed. Well done!

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Jennifer C

@Jen2024 Jan 10, 2024

Great movie sharing a lesser told history!

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Alysha S

@RT38640074 Sep 6, 2023

8.5. Most importantly, I thought about how perhaps the Nazis wouldn't have been emboldened to murder Jews, gypsies and others if there had been punishment for those who murdered Armenians. (The Armenian genocide was during the World War I era and the Nazi's behavior came many years later.) I also applaud how existing material of film subjects was revived. It makes me wonder if the animation used for it shouldn't be used more often. And the story is so incredibly compelling.

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Rubina Peroomian

Aug 19, 2023

The movie was great, very well done. It tells the story of Armenian massacres and deportations in the Ottoman Empire one hundred years ago. Particularly interesting was the very clever and proficient use of animation and live interviews with Arshaluis Mardikian (Aurora Mardiganian) the storyteller herself to complement and complete the short surviving segment from the 1919 silent film "Auction of the souls." Kudos to Inna Sahakian and her team to have given voice to not only a traumatized survivor but also to the one-and-a half million victims of the Armenian Genocide whose voices are being silenced by the Turkish propaganda machine and Azerbaijani oil money. In fact, the unfortunate reality of genocide going on today against Armenians in Nagorno Karabagh (Artshakh) speaks of the actuality of this film. Genocides will happen if the past is not acknowledged, and the perpetrator (the Turk) is not punished.

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Inna Sahakyan

Director

Aurora Mardiganian

Self

Anzhelika Hakobyan

Aurora

Arpi Petrossian

Aurora

Inna Sahakyan

Screenwriter

Kerstin Meyer-Beetz

Screenwriter

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Aurora's Sunrise: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In 1915, as WWI raged on, the Ottoman Empire singled out its entire Armenian population for destruction. Only 14 years old at the time, Aurora Mardiganian's story was tragically relatable. Forced onto a death march towards the Syrian desert, she lost her entire family before being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery. Four years later, through luck and extraordinary courage, she escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation. Starring as herself in the silent epic "Auction of Souls," an early Hollywood blockbuster, Aurora became the face of one of the largest and most successful charity campaigns in American history, as one of the first women activists fighting against the injustices of war. With a blend of vivid animation, interviews with Aurora herself, and 18 minutes of surviving re-discovered footage from her lost silent epic, "Aurora's Sunrise" revives a forgotten story of survival, hope and the endurance of the human spirit.

Director: Inna Sahakyan
Producer: Vardan Hovhannisyan, Christian Beetz, Justė Michailinaitė, Kestutis Drazdauskas, Eric Esrailian, Inna Sahakyan
Screenwriter: Inna Sahakyan, Kerstin Meyer-Beetz, Peter Liakhov
Distributor: Bars Media
Production Co: Broom Films, Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Bars Media, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), In The Air
Genre: Documentary, Animation
Original Language: Armenian
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 11, 2023, Limited
Runtime: 1h 36m

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