The creative and charismatic magician and one of the 20th century's greatest masters of cinema, Sergei Parajanov was born in Georgia to Armenian parents in 1924. The filmmaker, with his controversial lifestyle, was an internal outsider for Soviet authorities and spent a lot of time in prison. Parajanov invented a very individual poetic style which was totally different from the principles of socialist realism and consequently, his films were suppressed. Yet the years have passed and today his cinematic works are regarded as real works of art. 

In the 1960s, Sergei Parajanov made two masterpieces: “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” (1965) and ‘The Color of Pomegranates” (1969), both of which established him as a phenomena with no analogy. In 1984, political conditions started to change and with the help of Georgian intellectuals, the government allowed the director to create the multi-award winning “The Legend of Surami Fortress” (1985). However, the years spent in prison had crushed Parajanov’s health and the filmmaker passed away in 1990, leaving his final masterpiece "The Confession" unfinished.

''THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES''

''THE LEGEND OF SURAMI FORTRESS''

PHOTO: YURI MECHITOV