Intent to Destroy

Pulling back the curtain on mass murder censorship in Hollywood, Joe Berlinger’s thirteenth feature documentary INTENT TO DESTROY explores the violent history of the Armenian Genocide and legacy of Turkish denial over the past century while capturing the cinematic and political challenges of producing a historically meaningful, big-budget film in an environment rife with political suppression and threats of retaliation. Chronicling the true events of the 1915 Armenian Genocide that annihilated 1. 5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, INTENT TO DESTROY examines how the first modern genocide, once a highly recognized global atrocity, has been obfuscated from history by the modern Turkish state. Throughout the film, Berlinger turns the camera on these efforts, exposing how Turkish officials have used diplomatic coercion to subvert international academia, forcefully muzzle advocates and use its geographic placement and geopolitical connections to strong-arm America and other key allies into accepting their version of history.