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State Senator Backs Armenian Group’s Call for Glendale Mall to Allow Billboard Advertising Documentary on Genocide

After the Americana at Brand rejected billboard space for a film about genocide, state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) has joined a local Armenian group in asking mall officials to reverse their decision.

People assembled at The Americana at Brand in Glendale are seen in a photo from Aug. 13, 2013. (Credit: Jonathan Leibson / Getty Images)

Last week, the Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America requested that the Americana reconsider its denial of billboard space for “Architects of Denial,” a documentary that examines genocides, including the Armenian genocide, through survivor accounts.

In a statement on Thursday, Portantino said he supported the committee’s request.

“I thought to myself that Hollywood has long-celebrated thought-provoking and hard-edged filmmaking that stimulates conversations about historical events,” Portantino said. “It seems like labeling art as ‘too political’ was an odd reason to deny the appropriate free expression of a historical documentary.”

See the full story on LATimes.com.

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