The New Film "The Promise" To Be Presented At The Elton John AIDS Foundation's Academy Awards Viewing Party

On Sunday, February 26, 2017, Sir Elton John and David Furnish will introduce new movie "The Promise" at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 25th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party. The film tells the story of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey at the outset of World War I.

The movie sets a love story in the centre of the growing crisis in 1914 Turkey and the following horrors of the Armenian Genocide. 

“We have only to look at the horrific HIV/AIDS outbreak that followed in the wake of the Rwandan genocide in the mid-1990s to understand the direct connection between human rights atrocities and public health crises like the AIDS epidemic,” said Elton John. “Through our friendships with the Manoukian family and producer, Dr. Eric Esrailian from UCLA, David and I became more personally aware of the Armenian Genocide and its timely relevance to social issues today. The film’s theme KeepThePromise can be interpreted as keeping the promise to remember and learn from the atrocities of the past, as well as keeping the promise to end AIDS. At the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we are committed to KeepThePromise and raise awareness about this powerful film that uses classic storytelling to inspire people to take action today. We are honoured to share the important timing of our Oscar-night event to introduce people to The Promise.”

The film production team has taken an unprecedented step of making the commitment to donate all the money from the movie to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and other human rights and humanitarian groups.

“Such giving has never happened with a film of this scale, we wanted the world to know about it, and we are incredibly grateful,” said the Elton John AIDS Foundation Chairman David Furnish.