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Distinguished Films and Winners 2006

Special Presentation 2006

The Story of My Name (2006, Netherlands, 51 min.) is a beautifully made documentary film produced and directed by Dorothée Forma. It was US-premiered at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood as the Special Presentation of the 9th Annual Arpa International Film Festival, on October 26, 2006. STORY: Alex Luijten, a school principle in the Netherlands, takes on his father’s family name and becomes Alex Peltekian. He finds out that the Peltekians used to be a distinguished and wealthy family in Turkey. The quest brings him to Beirut, where he meets new relatives. Then he travels onto the Turkish town of Dörtyol, where he discovers his ancestral home. His family’s well-preserved two-story house is now a historic landmark protected by the state. Not for Peltekian, of course, but because Atatürk stayed there overnight when passing through the region in the 1920’s. Alex must quickly inspect the house, before the Turkish soldiers arrive to dispose of him. Mr. Alex Peltekian traveled all the way from Netherlands to receive the AFFMA AWARD on behalf of director/producer Dorothée Forma, an associate of the Humanist Broadcast Foundation in the Netherlands. This was her second time entering a film to AFFMA. “A Wall of Silence” was the title of another documentary film, which was screened at the 2nd AFFMA Film Festival in 1999. Alex was pleasantly surprised, when he unexpectedly discovered many members of the Peltekian klan in Los Angels. One of them was Lara Peltekian, AFFMA’s former secretary.

Nominees and Winners – Short Films and Animation Films

The Slow Zombie 22m (USA)
Shant Hamassian (D/W/P)
NOMINATED: BEST SHORT FILM

David Bianchi’s Soldier 11m (USA)
Daniel J. Pico (D); David Bianchi (W/P)
NOMINATED: BEST SHORT FILM

Love Runs Red 9m (USA)
Trevor John (D/W/P)
NOMINATED: BEST SHORT FILM

Lucky 20m (South Africa/UK)
Avie Luthra (D/W); Bex Hopkins (P)
WINNER: BEST SHORT FILM

The Love Within 14m (USA)
Corey Ziemniak (D/W/P)
NOMINATED: BEST SHORT FILM

Moongirl 9m (USA)
Henry Selick (D/W); Helen Kalafatic (P)
NOMINATED: BEST ANIMATION FILM

Flyaway 11m (USA)
Danny Oakley (D); John Cernak (W); Out of Our Minds Animation Studios (P)
NOMINATED: BEST ANIMATION FILM

The Little Matchgirl 11m (USA)
Roger Allers (D); Hans Christian Andersen (W); Baker Bloodworth (P); Don Hahn (P)
WINNER: BEST ANIMATION FILM

Flyaway 11m (USA)
Henry Selick (D/W); Helen Kalafatic (P)
NOMINATED: BEST ANIMATION FILM

Nominees and the Winner – Documentary Films

Awake Zion 60m (USA/Israel/Jamaica)
Monica Haim (D/W/P)
NOMINATED: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

Friendly Fire: Exposing the Gulf War Syndrome 80m (USA/Iraq)
Gary Null & T. Muschamp (D); Kevin C.F. Lang, M. Loudon, R. Spratt, S. Cooper, Z. Florosz,R. Polonesky (P)
NOMINATED: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

White Shadows 72m (USA)
Mialyn Hanna (D/W/P)
WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

Witnesses 12m (USA/Turkey)
Apo Torosyan (D/W/P)
NOMINATED: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

Young, Jewish and Left 55m (USA)
Konnie Chameides (D/P); Irit Reinheimer (D)
NOMINATED: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

AFFMA Foundation Award 2006

You Can Handle Bullies 30 seconds (USA)
Paul Abajian (D/P); Michael Kezirian (P)
WINNER: ARPA FOUNDATION AWARD

Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award 2006

Germany and the Secret Genocide 57m (USA)
J. Michael Hagopian (D/P)
WINNER: ARMIN T. WEGNER AWARD

Lifetime Achievement Award 2006

J. Michael Hagopian was the recipient of the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD in 2006. He also won ARMIN T. WEGNER AWARD for his film “Germany and the Secret Genocide”. Producer Hagopian has been a filmmaker for over 55 years. He won over a hundred awards including two EMMY nominations for the writing and production of “The Forgotten Genocide”, the first full length feature film on the Armenian Genocide. In all, Hagopian’s work encompasses nearly 400 survivor interviews and twenty years of research. Born in Kharpert, Hagopian became a professor of political science and economics at UCLA. In 1979, Hagopian founded the Armenian Film Foundation, a California non-profit organization, to document the Armenian culture.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]