About

A filmmaker rebel, Sergei Parajanov has crafted one of cinema’s most visually resplendent bodies of work. Saturated with sumptuous colours and dazzling cinematic staging, Parajanov’s films are highly original. His filmmaking style is often compared to poetry for its inventive mode of storytelling and richly layered meanings. The film narratives draw from folk tales, poems, historical figures, art and stories from his beloved Caucaus region.

Parajanov made films across multiple countries. Born to Armenian parents who raised him in Tbilisi in Soviet-era Georgia, Parajanov studied filmmaking in Moscow and later made films in Ukraine and Armenia. He was imprisoned three times during his life, for his anti-war sentiments and political dissonance. After shifting away from the Soviet State’s mandate to make social realist cinema, Parajanov’s unconventional filmmaking was viewed as potentially threatening by the State. The director became increasingly outspoken against the regime and was imprisoned and pursued by the State throughout his career.

This film program focuses on a suite of recently restored Parajanov films, returning them to their big-screen glory. The restorations were undertaken by some of the world’s most acclaimed archivists and film institutions, including Cineteca di Bologna in Italy, the Gaumont-Pathé Archives in France, National Cinema Centre of Armenia and the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre.

QAGOMA acknowledges the generous assistance of the Georgian National Film Center, Tbilisi; Cineteca di Bologna, Bologna; the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre, Kyiv; Cinema Foundation of Armenia, Yerevan in providing materials for this program. Program curated by Rosie Hays, Australian Cinémathèque. Additional writing by Sophie Hopmeier, Australian Cinémathèque.