Carla Garapedian (Armenian: Õ"Õ¡Ö€Õ¬Õ¡ Ô¿Õ¡Ö€Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¥Õ¡Õ¶) (born 27
February 1961) is a filmmaker, director, writer and broadcaster. She
directed Children of the Secret State about North Korea and was an
anchor for BBC World News. After leaving BBC World, she directed Dying
for the President" about Chechnya, Lifting the Veil, about women in
Afghanistan, Iran Undercover (Forbidden Iran for PBS Frontline World)
and My Friend the Mercenary about the coup in Equatorial Guinea. Her
feature, Screamers, was theatrically released in the U.S. in December
2006 and early 2007, and was on Newsweek's pick of non-fiction films
for 2006/7. The Independent called it "powerful" and Larry King for
CNN described it as "a brilliant film. Everyone should see it." The
New York Times deemed it "invigorating and articulate," while the Los
Angeles Times called it "eye-opening." "Carla Garapedian is a
screamer, too," said the Washington Post.She earned her undergraduate
and Ph.D. degrees in international relations at the London School of
Economics and Political Science before working as a producer, director
and foreign correspondent based in Britain. Between 1987 and 1990, she
was a producer/director and reporter for over 75 editions of The World
This Week (Channel 4, UK). Her first documentary, Cooking the Books
(1989, Channel 4 Dispatches), was a controversial investigation of the
Thatcher government's alleged manipulation of official statistics.
Between 1991 and 1992 she went in front of the camera, to become the
London correspondent for NBC London Live, producing twice-weekly live
spots for NBC Newschannel and NBC affiliate, KCRA. From 1991, she also
worked for the BBC, producing and directed documentaries for the BBC's
long-form foreign affairs documentary series, Assignment. Films
included Europe's Nuclear Nightmare (1991), an investigation of East
Europe's most dangerous nuclear reactors, post-Chernobyl; A Short
Break in the Interference (1993), with Donald Woods, examining radical
changes in South African broadcasting; and Aliens Go Home (1994)
unraveling the immigration backlash in California following the 1994
earthquake. She was CNBC's London anchor and correspondent in
1995-1996, and in the same period reported for NBC Weekend Nightly
News and NBC Today News.The first American to anchor BBC World News,
Garapedian presented news and analysis for the main news programs and
bulletins between 1996 and 1998. In her later screenplay, Talkback,
she dramatizes the night Princess Diana died. Her experiences are also
humorously recalled in a 2002 Los Angeles Times article.With the
advent of smaller digital cameras, Garapedian began making
documentaries in areas usually out of reach to journalists. Working
with Hardcash production company, she produced and directed films for
Channel 4's investigative series, Dispatches. Her films, all using
undercover filming, included Dying for the President (Chechnya),
Children of the Secret State (North Korea), Lifting the Veil
(Afghanistan), Iran Undercover (Iran) and My Friend the Mercenary
(South Africa/Equatorial Guinea). A description of this work is partly
described in The Los Angeles Times article, "Documenting Truth in
Dangerous Places."
February 1961) is a filmmaker, director, writer and broadcaster. She
directed Children of the Secret State about North Korea and was an
anchor for BBC World News. After leaving BBC World, she directed Dying
for the President" about Chechnya, Lifting the Veil, about women in
Afghanistan, Iran Undercover (Forbidden Iran for PBS Frontline World)
and My Friend the Mercenary about the coup in Equatorial Guinea. Her
feature, Screamers, was theatrically released in the U.S. in December
2006 and early 2007, and was on Newsweek's pick of non-fiction films
for 2006/7. The Independent called it "powerful" and Larry King for
CNN described it as "a brilliant film. Everyone should see it." The
New York Times deemed it "invigorating and articulate," while the Los
Angeles Times called it "eye-opening." "Carla Garapedian is a
screamer, too," said the Washington Post.She earned her undergraduate
and Ph.D. degrees in international relations at the London School of
Economics and Political Science before working as a producer, director
and foreign correspondent based in Britain. Between 1987 and 1990, she
was a producer/director and reporter for over 75 editions of The World
This Week (Channel 4, UK). Her first documentary, Cooking the Books
(1989, Channel 4 Dispatches), was a controversial investigation of the
Thatcher government's alleged manipulation of official statistics.
Between 1991 and 1992 she went in front of the camera, to become the
London correspondent for NBC London Live, producing twice-weekly live
spots for NBC Newschannel and NBC affiliate, KCRA. From 1991, she also
worked for the BBC, producing and directed documentaries for the BBC's
long-form foreign affairs documentary series, Assignment. Films
included Europe's Nuclear Nightmare (1991), an investigation of East
Europe's most dangerous nuclear reactors, post-Chernobyl; A Short
Break in the Interference (1993), with Donald Woods, examining radical
changes in South African broadcasting; and Aliens Go Home (1994)
unraveling the immigration backlash in California following the 1994
earthquake. She was CNBC's London anchor and correspondent in
1995-1996, and in the same period reported for NBC Weekend Nightly
News and NBC Today News.The first American to anchor BBC World News,
Garapedian presented news and analysis for the main news programs and
bulletins between 1996 and 1998. In her later screenplay, Talkback,
she dramatizes the night Princess Diana died. Her experiences are also
humorously recalled in a 2002 Los Angeles Times article.With the
advent of smaller digital cameras, Garapedian began making
documentaries in areas usually out of reach to journalists. Working
with Hardcash production company, she produced and directed films for
Channel 4's investigative series, Dispatches. Her films, all using
undercover filming, included Dying for the President (Chechnya),
Children of the Secret State (North Korea), Lifting the Veil
(Afghanistan), Iran Undercover (Iran) and My Friend the Mercenary
(South Africa/Equatorial Guinea). A description of this work is partly
described in The Los Angeles Times article, "Documenting Truth in
Dangerous Places."
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