Retour
Evelyne Ragot
2001 - 56 min - Beta numérique - Couleur - France
The Armenians arrived in France from 1923, coming from orphanages and refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon and Greece. From Marseilles, their port of arrival, they emigrated towards the industrial centres of the Rhône valley.
Décines, in the suburbs of Lyons, was an important place where they concentrated, around the silk factory that made rayon and employed more than 50% of Armenians. It has remained so with the later arrival of Armenians from Lebanon who emigrated in the 1970s.
The Mardirossian family illustrates, over three generations, the classic itinerary of an Armenian family in Décines, from the difficult beginnings to the success of some of its members. It is a family which is very much involved in the life of the community : Jules Mardirossian is an active militant for the Armenian cause, his brother Edouard is one of the pillars of the Décines associations and his oldest daughter works in Erevan on reconstructing an independent Armenia.
Through the itinerary and the different points of view of members of this family, the film examines the feeling of Armenian-ness and the question of the territory in which is rooted today the history of a family and a community that has wanted to be French and has felt French but also behaves as a diapora.
Author-Director : Evelyne Ragot
Delegate Producer : Les Films d'ici
Broadcasting Co-producer : France 3
Contribution : CNC, FAS (Fonds d'action sociale)
Distribution
Distributor : Les Films d'ici
Circulation-Consultation : Musée national de l'Histoire de l'immigration
Disponible au Club du doc