蜜芽传媒

Bold and irreverent, Sergei Parajanov was a man forever dancing on the edge of danger. One of the 20th century鈥檚 greatest masters of cinema, he lived and worked in Ukraine as well as across the Caucasus and once wryly declared 鈥淚 am an Armenian, born in Georgia, incarcerated in a Russian prison for being a Ukrainian nationalist.鈥�
While Soviet officials were appalled by his experimental style, filmmakers around the world recognised his formidable talent. The Hollywood director Martin Scorsese said watching his work was 鈥渓ike opening a door and walking into another dimension where time has stopped, and beauty is unleashed鈥� on the viewer.

In this Sunday Feature, Lucy Ash explores the life and legacy of Parajanov by talking to those who knew him and those he inspired. She visits the Armenian capital of Yerevan and focuses on his most famous film, The Colour of Pomegranates, which tells the story of an 18th century singer-poet and monk, Sayat Nova. The Soviet authorities thought they had commissioned a straightforward biopic of a revered national hero. Instead, they got a film with almost no dialogue, unfolding as a series of highly stylised tableaux amidst the rugged landscape of the Caucasus.

The film was vetoed and Parajanov banned from working in cinema for 15 years. Shortly after it came out, he was imprisoned on trumped up charges and only released after pressure from artists abroad. He died in his prime, aged 66, when he had several ideas for new work. Yet his unique vision still resonates today. Pop diva Lady Gaga, one of those inspired by him, said her 911 video filled with Parajanov imagery was 鈥渢he poetry of pain鈥�. For all its beauty and life affirming qualities, much of The Colour of Pomegranates could be described in the same way.

Producer - Tatyana Movshevich
Editor - Penny Murphy
Studio Engineer - Neil Churchill
Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman

Extracts of Sergei Parajanov speaking in Russian are from the documentary titled 鈥楶arajanov- A Requiem鈥� filmed by Ron Holloway, courtesy of 脰Film D枚rr & Schl枚sser GmbH.

Thanks to Tigran Mansurian, Mark Grigorian, Serge Avedikian, Alexander (Sasha) Atanesyan, Levon Abrahamian, the Parajanov Museum in Yerevan and Anahit Mikayelyan, Ian Christie, Leonid Louneev, Charlie Anson, Natalia Jugheli, Patrick Cazals, 脰Film, Chaghig Chahinian, Cecilia Cenciarelli, Gordian Maugg, Vahagn Sargsyan and Tarsem Singh.