CONFIRMED

William in Gevas on the south shore of Lake Van, Turkey, 1964, taken by Turkish painter and journalist Fikret Otyam. Forever Saroyan LLC

The film directed by Lusin Dink,  the daughter of renowned Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist Hrant Dink’s brother “SaroyanLand” (2013) is now available online, Ermenihaber reports.

“SaroyanLand” is a documentary drama focusing on the journey of renowned American- Armenian writer William Saroyan to the birthplace of his Armenian family in Bitlis, Turkey in 1964.

Saroyan portrayed himself as an American and a Bitlis-tsi, an Armenian from the city of Bitlis in Turkey. In 1964 he made a long voyage in Anatolia, leading him to his home town Bitlis. The docu-drama road movie "SaroyanLand" tells the story of this voyage, making use of his own memoirs and short stories, as well as the accounts of his traveling companions. In Saroyan's own words, told by a voice-over, we see his anger, passion, longing for his homeland, the ability of empathy, and love of humankind. The script of the film, based on interviews, the reenactment of Saroyan's stories, and the author's memoirs is a collage of his voyage in Turkey, told in his own words. While replicating Saroyan's voyage 49 years later, we witness the self-discovery of a man, who by following the traces of his ancestors, also finds himself.

You can watch the film here.