Joe Berlinger’s documentaries, which include “Paradise Lost” and “Brother’s Keeper,” have often focused on the justice system.
Written by Michelle Lanz, November 13, 2017
His new film, called “Intent to Destroy,” takes an unusual angle about what many people consider to be a miscarriage of justice. The film looks at how Hollywood has depicted the Armenian Genocide, and how it also has been pressured — and agreed — to ignore that story.
The Turkish government refuses to acknowledge — and even denies — what historians broadly agree was the Ottoman Empire’s extermination of about 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915.
Berlinger takes an interesting approach to telling this story. He frames his documentary around the making of another movie — last year’s historical drama, “The Promise,” directed by Terry George and starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac. The film is set in the Ottoman Empire on the eve of World War I and follows Isaac as a young Armenian medical student.
The Frame’s John Horn recently spoke with Berlinger.