Filmmaker Abby Alexanian
Abby Alexanian of Gloucester and Waltham will appear at Glen Urquhart School in Beverly on Sun., Oct. 25, as part of the school’s Alumni Speaker Series. Alexanian is the writer and co-producer of the soon-to-be-released feature-length documentary film, “Scars of Silence: Three Generations of Genocide,” which traces her and her father’s search for their Armenian identity and examines how silence about the genocide has stood in the way of healing for so many Armenian families.
Alexanian, who made the film with her father, well-known photographer Nubar Alexanian, traveled to three of the four villages where her great-grandparents lived in Historic Armenia, within eastern Turkey, for the project. At the Glen Urquhart event, she will show clips of the film and discuss the importance of educating students about all the genocides and mass killings in history, both to help prevent them in the future and to teach children how to discuss difficult topics. As a professional in the field of child advocacy, Alexanian believes healing from all trauma can only occur when there is openness around hurtful subjects.
The young filmmaker is a graduate of Glen Urquhart, Commonwealth School in Boston, and Vassar College. She will receive a master of business administration in nonprofit management and a master of public policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University in December. Alexanian then hopes to continue her work in the field of early childhood policy and advocacy.
The event is free and open to the public. It begins at 4 p.m. at Glen Urquhart School, located at 74 Hart St. in Beverly. For more information, call (978) 927-1064.
Source: Armenian Weekly
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