CHRONICLING A PEOPLE'S PAST; FILMMAKER TRACKS ARMENIAN HISTORY.

Byline: Angela Randazzo Daily News Staff Writer

To celebrate a film odyssey that spans five decades, clips from seven of J. Michael Hagopian's films will be screened Sunday at the Scherr Forum Theatre in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

The event, Adventures through Armenian History, is sponsored by the Thousand Oaks Sister City Committee and chronicles the proud, and often tragic, history of the Armenian people.

Hagopian will act as master of ceremonies and will begin the program with a 12-minute film clip from his work ``Where Are My People.'' Using historical photographs and film clips, the 1965 documentary depicts the genocide of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of the Turkish government.

``I made this film two years after I moved to Thousand Oaks and it's the first documentary I made on the Armenian subject,'' Hagopian said.

Hagopian has made documentaries on India, the Himalayas, Africa and other subjects, but it's the Armenian experience that's closest to his heart.

Hagopian himself is a survivor of the Armenian genocide. As a child, his parents hid him inside of a well when their lives were endangered in 1915. Although Hagopian's family immigrated to the United States in 1923, he hasn't forgotten his history or culture.

``The Armenian people are survivors. Despite what happened to them they won out,'' said Hagopian.

The eyewitness accounts of other survivors are included in his film, ``The Forgotten Genocide'' that he made in 1976 with better film equipment and a bigger budget.

``The budget for `The Forgotten Genocide' was $75,000. If I made the same film today, it would cost $300,000,'' said Hagopian.

The documentary was nominated for two Emmy awards and clips have been included on American, British and Australian television programs about the Armenian culture.

The film is narrated by Armenian-American TV actor Mike Connors, best known for his role as ``Mannix,'' who is also the honorary chairman for the event.

Hagopian has spent most of his life as an educator in political science. He received his master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and went on to Harvard University for his doctoral degree. After graduation, Hagopian joined the armed forces in 1943 and was assigned to ground crews that worked with B-29 bombers.

Hagopian and his wife, Antoinette, have lived in Thousand Oaks for 37 years and have raised four children. He is the founder of the Thousand Oaks Sister City committee to Spitak, Armenia. In the past seven years, the committee has raised nearly $70,O00 to assist the residents of Spitak after an earthquake in 1988 devastated their city.

His most recent project is ``The Witnesses,'' a project large in scope that he plans to make into a trilogy. The documentary focuses on eyewitness accounts to tell the story of the Armenian genocide and a clip of the work in progress will be included at the screening

``I've been collecting material for this film for 20 years,'' said Hagopian. ``I've conducted 350 interviews in 13 different countries in 13 different languages.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (Color) J. Michael Hagopian will be hosting a screening of his films focusing on Armenian history Sunday at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

David Sprague/Daily News