The Promise: A love story set against the backdrop of the Armenian Genocide

Love is the The Promise’s stock in trade. Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, this historical romance features epic, emotional stories — captured in 72 days across 20 locations throughout Spain, Malta, Portugal and New York — all set against the backdrop of the Armenian genocide, writes the Huffington Post. But love is The Promise’s stock in trade. “Along with this heavy topic, we’ve created a very moving and emotional love quadrangle that carries us through the film,” says Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), the film’s director and co-writer. “We set out to create something that would appeal to a broader audience. This is a big, old-fashioned love story that takes place during a very dark period in history.”

Not only does the film deal frankly with the mass killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1922, it is also one of the most expensive independently financed films ever made — nearly $100 million. Bringing the story to the masses was a mission for Kirk Kerkorian, an Armenian businessman who once owned Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). He died in 2015 as the film was going into production. “One thing I would like to mention is that the proceeds of our film are all being donated to non-profit organizations,” says Eric Esrailian, one of the film’s producers. “That’s an unprecedented occurrence in a film of this scale, and it’s all thanks to the generosity of Kirk Kerkorian, who wanted us to not only tell the story but to give back to the world. Besides, just loving the story Terry had written, everyone involved with the film felt a connection to the bigger, altruistic mission.”

For many Armenians, the orchestrated campaign of denial for 102 years has been a weight that has been on their shoulders, because so many people have had experiences from their own families of atrocities being committed. “That pressure has always been on Armenians,” says Esrailian. “To develop a sense of awareness that doesn’t quite exist is a challenge. Having a film that allows people to finally have a window into the Armenian culture is something that has never quite happened on this scale.”

This comes to life with Shohreh Aghdashloo’s role as Oscar Isaac’s loving mother. There’s such a real purity and rawness to her, and there’s such a duality of this character. Like any mother, she wants nothing more than to see her child succeed, and there is nothing she won’t do to protect her family. “It’s not just in my role. It’s my real life as well, says Shohreh Aghdashloo, who plays Marta in the film. “It’s hard to keep the balance. Something interesting to add, a German psychologist has divided women into a few categories: Mothers, Geishas and Amazon women, who I personally identify with the most. Marta is a true mother — be it Armenian, Iranian or American — makes no a difference. I was raised in Iran, and in the good old days, Jews, Muslims and Christians were all together. I was raised with Armenians. Their story was told to me but I couldn’t grasp what exactly took place because I was so young. Later, when I started politics in the UK, I became more familiar with the cause. It wasn’t just a cause I wanted to portray, I wanted to be a part of it. When I left Iran, I promised myself that I was going to put my talent at the service of meaningful films and projects.”