Canadian standout filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s Ararat “furthers hatred between [Turkish and Armenian] communities,” said the U of T Turkish Students’ Association.

The film, which opened up this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, has stirred up controversy on and off campus.

Egoyan’s film is set in present-day Toronto, but depicts the plight of Armenian people in the First World War. The filmmaker, who is himself Armenian, addresses the contested genocide of two-thirds of his native population and the marks it has left on the surviving Armenian diaspora.

The film was first shown at the Cannes film festival in May. Egoyan declined to enter the film in competition at Cannes, claiming that its politicized nature made it unsuitable for judgement at the time.

Narin Elalmis, the president of the U of T Turkish Student’s Association (TSA), spoke on behalf of her group, saying, “We don’t accept [the Armenian genocide].” She claimed that, “according to international law, if you get recognition as a genocide, then you can claim land…that’s why they just make up this genocide thing.”

She added, “When you look at the history, the Armenians murdered many Turkish people in Eastern Anatolia [a province of Turkey].”

Armenians have commended the film, the first to present this element of history. The film stars University of Toronto student David Alpay, who is also a member of the U of T Armenian Students’ Association (ASA).

Elalmis said there have been tensions between the TSA and the ASA in the past. She claims the Armenian student group has purposely sabotaged events organized by the TSA.

George Kharlakian is an education student at York University. He plays the role of a “fedayee” (an Armenian freedom fighter) in Ararat. Kharlakian said, “Without a shadow of doubt, the facts of the genocide are very real and indisputable.

“The Turkish government has not recognized the genocide mainly due to the political implications of doing so, including repatriation, and reinforcing its public relations image,” he said.

Before the film played at Cannes, Egoyan told the Toronto Star that “I have tried to be as fair-minded and responsible as possible, but I make no bones about the fact that this is an event that absolutely did occur.”

Kharlakian explains that Egoyan does not use a documentary style to recount the Armenians’ story, rather his “artistic ability transcends a message by weaving different historical facts and contemporary stories together.”

Amidst the controversy, both groups suggest that the public inform themselves about the historical facts of the World War One-era events.

“Those who watch the film are encouraged to look at the evidence and witness first-hand the atrocities committed by the Turkish government, and further their knowledge on the subject.” Kharlakian said.