Award-Winning Filmmaker and Journalist Tsvetana Paskaleva Kicks off International Tour with AGBU France

Screenings of Groundbreaking Documentary “Wounds of Karabakh” Attract Hundreds

For millions around the world, news and images of the Nagorno Karabakh war with Azerbaijan are forever burned in memory. The Bulgarian reporter Tsvetana Paskaleva’s dispatches from the frontlines of the 1988-1994 conflict not only helped propel it into the international spotlight, but earned her numerous awards and were developed into her seven groundbreaking documentaries, as well. The films, entitled collectively “Wounds of Karabakh,” received renewed attention over the past few weeks during a series of events organized and sponsored by AGBU France, which kicked off Paskaleva’s international tour.

Paskaleva’s work has long been utilized to open the eyes of world leaders to the atrocities suffered by the Armenian community in Karabakh. From 1993-1994, “Wounds of Karabakh” was screened before Amnesty International, the Parliament of Canada, the United Nations and the United States Congress, among other government bodies and organizations. On Thursday, November 29, 2012, the French Senate was added to that list. At the invitation of French Senator Philippe Kaltenbach, who heads the France-Armenia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, a delegation of Armenian parliamentary leaders met with French representatives in Luxembourg Palace. There, they viewed the film and participated in a roundtable discussion on peace and dialogue in Karabakh. In the days that followed, dozens more elected officials and community leaders gathered at AGBU centers across the country.

On Friday, November 30, 2012, AGBU Valence hosted a screening that drew guests from both near and far, including the Mayor of Valence Alain Maurice, the Mayor of the Armenian city of Idjevan Varuzhan Nersisyan, and AGBU Valence Chair Jean Jacques Vartanian. Since AGBU Valence adopted Idjevan as a sister city over two years ago, the two have joined forces to promote cultural and sustainable development initiatives internationally, and Mr. Nersisyan’s presence demonstrated that their relationship remains strong. The following day, Paskaleva headed to Marseille for a showing of the film that was co-organized by the local AGBU chapter and the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF). AGBU Lyon also partnered with the CCAF, as well as with Radio Armenia, for their screening, which was held on Monday, December 3, 2012, and attracted over 70 attendees, among them AGBU Lyon Chair Michel Sandjian.

At each stop on her AGBU tour, Paskaleva, who was joined by her producer Zara Nazarian, recounted what first prompted her to visit Karabakh, the violence she witnessed there, and ways she believes the region can achieve peace and stability to move forward. In 1991, when reports of mass deportations of Armenians living in the Karabakh villages of Getashen, Martunashen and Shahumyan reached Moscow, where Paskaleva was a PhD film student, she immediately packed her camera and traveled into the heart of the conflict. What she thought would be a short-term assignment turned into a three year engagement, as she began reporting for major news outlets and became the only international journalist on the ground continuously throughout the Karabakh war. She filmed hundreds of hours of harrowing footage, risking her life time and time again to ensure that the horrors of the war did not go unreported. Her extraordinary acts of bravery were recognized by a Medal of Courage from the Armenian Government in 1996, as well as with the rank of Karabakh Defense Army Colonel, which she received in 1995, despite never bearing arms during the conflict.

Years later, though, Paskaleva says her work is not yet done. As she commented during the AGBU France events, “Now is the time for Armenians to win the last battle: the diplomatic battle… I initiated this international tour to remind our politicians that the conflict is still painfully unresolved and that they bear the responsibility to bring sustainable peace to Karabakh so we may finally put the past behind us.” At each of the screenings organized by AGBU France, policy makers were already responding to Paskaleva’s appeal, gathering to discuss the status of Nagorno Karabakh and ways to create a brighter future in the region. As Tsvetana Paskaleva’s international tour continues, she is sure to continue to inspire the political will to more toward positive change.