Mayrig

Mayrig is a 1991 semi-autobiographical drama written and directed by French-Armenian filmmaker Henri Verneuil; its title means "mother" in Armenian. The film follows an Armenian family that flees Turkey after the 1915 genocide and struggles to build a new life in France. Drawing on his own childhood, Verneuil portrays the family's hardships through the eyes of young Azad, whose parents are played by Claudia Cardinale and Omar Sharif. The traditional Armenian song "Dle Yaman" features prominently in the soundtrack. Running over two and a half hours, the picture forms the first part of a family chronicle: after its success, Verneuil re-edited the material as a television series and continued the story with the sequel 588 rue Paradis. Blending exile, poverty and the search for identity, it stands as one of Verneuil's most personal works.