Bolis/My Grandfather's Music (The Oud Maker)

a film by Eric Nazarian  
Lecture Performance by and with Eric Nazarian

Bolis written and directed by Eric Nazarian tells the story of Armenak Mouradian, an Armenian from the Diaspora returning to Istanbul to find his grandfather's oud shop and a family musical heirloom that disappeared during the Armenian Genocide in 1915. Bolis was part of the omnibus, Do Not Forget me Istanbul that was made in Istanbul as part of the European Capital of Culture 2010 Program.

Eric Nazarian portrays three generations of Armenian oud masters from Anatolia, and thereby gets to the bottom of the musical instrument and its international heritage. The stories and music of Master Cengiz, as well as the legacy of his masters Onnig Karibyan and Krikor Kehayan, intertwine the past with survival through music and the power of this ancient instrument.