Edward, a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, which lead to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Raffi has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film. Raffi's mother Ani, an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David, a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to the film.

2-Disc DVD Special features include: Feature commentary track w/ director Atom Egoyan ; Deleted scenes w/ optional commentary ; "Making of Ararat" featurette ; "Arsinee Khanjian on Ararat" featurette ; Film short "Portrait of Arshile" w/ optional commentary ; Raffi's video footage ; Historical information ; Teatrical trailer ; DVD-ROM links.