Robert Chacon
When it came time to shoot his movie, Vahe Babaian had no doubt where
he would turn loose his cameras and crew.
In "After Freedom," writer and director Babaian tells the story of
a young man who came to Glendale when his family fled Iran in 1976.
Partly autobiographical, partly fictional, "After Freedom" tells
the story of immigrants who struggle to find their place in the
American dream. Glendale residents will recognize landmarks along
Brand and Glenoaks boulevards and other locations throughout the
city.
"I used Glendale so prominently in the film because I grew up here
and I know every corner. There was no other way to tell the story,"
Babaian said. "With this film I had a chance to show ... a
neighborhood that hasn't been seen, a way of life that hasn't been
shown."
The movie opened Friday at Glendale Cinemas, 501 N. Orange Blvd,
and at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills.
Producer Eric Sherman was Babaian's directing teacher at the Art
Center College of Design in Pasadena.
"Vahe was trying to tell the story of struggling immigrants, the
story of my parents, who also struggled to survive. He needed my
assistance," Sherman said. "This is a universal story about what it's
like trying to fit in."
The gritty side of life for Armenian Americans, as well as the
devotion to family, is portrayed through various characters in the
film.
"I didn't understand the film at first and I wondered why it
wanted to show the bad side of our community, but the story was
wrapped up nicely by the end," said San Francisco resident Janet
Shahkarami, who was taking time out from a business trip to watch the
film. "The movie does portray our people very well. It shows our
struggles and how we make something of ourselves despite those
troubles."
