Uncovering Roots, a new storytelling podcast that features overlooked stories, is launching its first mini-series, The Lost Voice: Aurora Mardiganian.
The podcast will feature a number of stories which concentrate on the SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) region and indigenous people across the globe. Each story picks up important issues and explores them to give people a voice.
The inaugural mini-series, The Lost Voice, delves into the story of Aurora Mardiganian. Known as the Anne Frank of the Armenian Genocide, the podcast goes into her life using her oral testimonies and interviews with people who knew her.
The story is an investigation into what happened to a lost forgotten Armenian genocide survivor who became a film star – it’s about Hollywood exploitation, the resilience of this woman and how the movie which broke box office records in America is now officially a “lost film”.
The series is narrated by Maxim Saakyan and showcases a diverse range of voices, from the renowned director Atom Egoyan and Carla Garapedian to silent movie expert Anthony Slide. It also includes insights from the nurse who provided care for Aurora during the 1990s.
Other stories to be featured in future series include the queer movement in Beirut in the 1970s, following a Powerlifting champion from Lebanon who is challenging gender stereotypes and telling the story of Armenian flags with a vexillologist expert.
The first series of Uncovering Roots The Lost Voice: Aurora Mardiganian is available next week on most podcast platforms including Apple and Spotify.
