Ridgefield, NJ — Voyage to Amasia, a new documentary film by Randy Bell and Eric V. Hachikian, will screen in New Jersey on Sunday, May 19th at 1 p.m., at the Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church (Downstairs Hall), 461 Bergen Blvd, Ridgefield, NJ. There will be a Q&A with director Eric Hachikian following the film with light refreshments. Admission is free.

The film had its world premiere at the Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto in December 2011, where it won the prize for Best Documentary; it subsequently won the Special Jury Award at the Alexandria Film Festival in Alexandria, Virginia in 2012. It has also screened at numerous film festivals around the United States, at the Golden Apricot Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia, and in Sydney, Australia.

Voyage to Amasia documents composer Eric Hachikian’s return to his ancestral home – Amasia, Turkey – nearly 100 years after Ottoman soldiers deported his grandmother during the Armenian Genocide. The film is set to Eric’s piano trio of the same name, which provided the initial inspiration for the documentary. Voyage to Amasia traces a path through the past, honoring Eric’s relationship with his grandmother and uncovering what her family’s life in Turkey might have been like. It also explores how the events of nearly a century ago continue to strain the relationship between Armenians and Turks today. Inspired by one family’s story, the filmmakers embark on their own journey in the hopes of finding a greater understanding between two peoples still at odds. More information on the film can be found at www.voyagetoamasia.com.

Randy Bell is a Washington, DC,-based independent filmmaker. His documentary films, which explore subjects as diverse as American popular music, mid-century European modernist architecture, and the AIDS orphan crisis in Kenya, have won awards from the Cleveland International Film Festival, the New England Film and Video Festival, and the Ivy Film Festival. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in 2000, and his Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2010.

Eric V. Hachikian is an Armenian-American composer whose music has been hailed by the New York Times as “lovely and original.” His compositions and orchestrations can be heard in a variety of major motion pictures, network television shows, and national and international ad campaigns. They have been performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall, at Boston’s Symphony Hall, at The Getty in Los Angeles, and Off-Broadway in New York City. A classically-trained composer, as well as a self-taught DJ and perpetual student of world music, Eric’s musical style has no boundaries, and his multi-genre interests result in a unique and personal sound.

This event is sponsored by ANC of New Jersey. Please contact James Sahagian at 201-739-0901 for more information. If you would like more information about the film, or to schedule an interview with Randy Bell & Eric Hachikian, please email him at vta@voyagetoamasia.com.