Assyria A.D. director: Ramy Jajo. Picture: Simon Bennett
Ishtartv.com
- fairfieldchampion.com.au
Chris Boulous, APRIL 7 2021
Assyria A.D. producer Ramsin
Edward said their new documentary aims to "inspire" Assyrian youth.
A production by the
Fairfield-based Assyrian Cultural and Social Youth Association (ACSYA), Assyria
A.D delves into the complex history of the Assyrian cultural identity.
"It's chronically the
fingerprint; the history of the people and what happened to them from the fall
of the empire to the 19th century," Mr Edward said.
"The documentary looks over
historical, archeological and literary evidence trying to draw a connection
between present-day Assyrians and ancient Assyrians.
"The reason why we are doing
this is because in the scholarly community, particularly in the field of Syriac
studies, there is a consensus amongst some of the scholars that today's
Assyrians are not connected with Ancient Assyrians.
"This documentary brings
together scholars that don't agree with that arguments and present a compelling
argument using scientific evidence."
The documentary, which took more
than two years to complete because of COVID-complications, paints a portrait of
an ambitious land and a resilient people.
It features interviews with Dr.
Nicholas Al-Jeloo, a leading Syriacist, archaeologist Nineveh Yakou and
Assyrian Scholar Dr Efrem Yildiz. Each of them talk about their own period of
expertise.
A GoFundMe appeal raised more
than $20,000 for the documentary which was directed by Ramy Jajo, who is the
president of ACSYA Inc, an independent not-for-profit cultural organisation.
Mr Edward said with a lot of the
Assyrian community leaving northern Iraq, north-western Iran, south-eastern
Turkey and north-eastern Syria to form diaspora communities across the world it
placed their identify, language, heritage and traditions at risk.
"With this documentary we
want to inspire youth to draw a connection to the homeland. A lot of our youth
think Assyria is just ancient Assyria; they don't realise we made contributions
to other periods. We wanted to draw attention to that and promote different
periods," he said.
A virtual screening will be held
on April 24. Details: ccarofficial.com/events
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