Born in Tbilisi in 1924 to Armenian parents and died in Yerevan in 1990, Sergei Parajanov made visually dazzling films that broke with Soviet socialist realism. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) brought him international fame, and The Color of Pomegranates (1969), a series of tableaux inspired by the life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, is among the most original films ever made. He was arrested in 1973 and spent years in prison and labour camps, and returned to filmmaking in the 1980s.
Filmography
- Andriesh (1954)
- Ukrainian Rhapsody (1961)
- Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965)
- Kiev Frescoes (1966)
- The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
- The Legend of Suram Fortress (1985)
- Ashik Kerib (1988)