NEW YORK, NY – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has teamed with Sony BMG Entertainment in hosting an inaugural reception for the DVD release of “Screamers,” an award-winning, internationally produced documentary that details the history of modern-day genocide beginning with the Armenian Genocide in 1915, traveling through the Holocaust era, exploring what happened in Rwanda and other countries and ends with the genocide currently happening in Darfur.

The February 19th invitation-only media event will feature Grammy award winning System of a Down lead singer Serj Tankian, SCREAMERS director Carla Garapedian along with a host of anti-genocide advocates committed to ending the cycle of genocide.

“The ANCA is proud to be joining once again with Serj, Carla and SONY BMG Entertainment for the SCREAMERS DVD launch event in New York,” stated ANCA Eastern Region Director Karine Birazian. “Throughout its international tour, SCREAMERS has inspired human rights activists worldwide to take action against genocide. Now, with the DVD release, SCREAMERS will reach an even wider audience, serving as a powerful educational tool in the ongoing campaign to end the cycle of genocide.”

“I think this is an important film,” explained Tankian. “It’s not just about System, it is about the denial of genocide, the common denominator of all genocides, how they get away with it. It is about the hypocrisy of denial.”

In conjunction with the DVD release, the ANCA will be launching its “Take SCREAMERS to School” program, encouraging Armenian Americans and human rights advocates across the U.S. to donate the documentary to schools, libraries and community groups, in addition to adding it to their own DVD collections, in an effort to expand anti-genocide awareness nationwide. Copies of the SCREAMERS DVD, which include classroom appropriate versions of the film along with a host of special features, are available at Amazon.com, Best Buy and other major retailers. Genocide education curricula are available on the SCREAMERS movie website – www.screamersmovie.com — which highlights online resources from the Genocide Education Project and Facing History, among other groups.

‘SCREAMERS’ is a production of MG2 productions in association with BBC Television and The Raffy Manoukian Charity. Award winning director Carla Garapedian, a veteran reporter who has made a career of covering the most difficult stories, from Chechnya to repression in Afghanistan, follows the European tour of “System Of A Down” and their ongoing efforts, through music and activism, to raise awareness about denial of the Armenian Genocide and its legacy of a century of atrocities culminating in the ongoing genocide in Darfur. The film was distributed by Maya Entertainment, debuting at the American Film Institute (AFI) Film Festival in November, 2006, where it won the coveted AFI Audience Award.

“SCREAMERS busts wide-open the hypocrisy of politicians and governments who have misleadingly vowed ‘never again.’ This film reminds us that we, as individuals, can make a difference. We can, as Serj says, all be screamers.”

The ANCA teamed up with Save Darfur and the Raffy Manoukian Charity in bringing SCREAMERS to a Congressional audience in January 2007 and once again in October 2008, with the participation of Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsor Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ).