‘The Promise’ Brings Alive Saga of the Armenian Genocide

FEATURING STEPHANIE ABRAHAM – Just in time for the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide, a new film is hitting theaters called The Promise. The film stars Oscar Isaac as an Armenian medical student, Charlotte Le Bon as an Armenian-born French woman, and Christian Bale as an American journalist. A love triangle between the three main characters is set within the tumultuous final years of Turkey’s Ottoman empire and the Armenian Genocide.

Because of its topic, the film has been roundly criticized by the Turkish government, which has refused to acknowledge the genocide. Responding to The Promise, Turkish investors bankrolled a film called The Ottoman Lieutenant and released it a month before The Promise hit US theaters, offering the Turkish government’s perspective on the Armenian Genocide.

Stephanie Abraham is a writer and media critic, she helped found the feminist magazine make/shift and was the founding editor of the feminist magazine LOUDmouth. Her works have been published in McSweeney’s, Al Jazeera, Mizna and Bitch Magazine. She is the Pop Culture Correspondent and Film Critic for Rising Up With Sonali.