Parajanov movies

Nigyar kerimova
Parajanov: the last spring
Suren parajanov

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The 100th anniversary of Armenian Film Director Sergei Parajanov will be celebrated at IArt
Gallery in Tbilisi on January 9 from 19:00-23:30.

Parajanov is an artist and film director born in Tbilisi in 1924 of Armenian descent and is widely
known for his work in Soviet cinematography. His unique style and approach to art allowed his
films to become famous throughout Ukraine, Armenia, and Georgia, which is why an exhibition
will be held in his favor. The event is called “Parajanov: The Power of Intention” and will have
different works of his on showcase along with a book presentation and food.

“Let Parajanov’s works transport you to a realm where creativity knows no bounds and where the
human spirit is set free to explore the depths of emotion and expression,” is written on the
event’s Facebook page.

The event is 30 GEL to attend, and the itinerary will have visitors occupied the whole night.
Starting at 7pm will be four areas for guests to participate in and view. One is a buffet hosted
by “Old Yerevan Restaurant” for everyone to enjoy, and then there will be an

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Remembering Sergei Parajanov, the Bard of the Caucasus

A wandering minstrel, Ashik Kerib, presents himself within the frescoed walls of Nadir Pasha’s “divan” (reception hall). “I am a humble minstrel. My lute and I are ready to sing praises for you,” Ashik Kerib states. Nadir Pasha, a small-time nobleman, is a picture of pantomime pomposity, sporting a curly mustache and quivering jowls. He is bedecked in velvet and brocade; on his head bobs an oversized turban. Seated cross-legged to his right, his wives coyly secrete themselves beneath colored silk “kelahagyi” (scarves). When Ashik Kerib, in a sign of deference, bows his head to the carpet at the pasha’s feet, the women cast their kelahagyi aside, brandishing toy machine guns that they fire with abandon toward the ceiling.

This is one of several unexpected moments in Armenian director Sergei Parajanov’s final movie, “Ashik Kerib,” shot in Azerbaijan. Those familiar with his work know Parajanov had a penchant for inserting confounding objects, often infused with obscure symbolism, into pivotal scenes. In Parajanov’s movies, bea

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Where to begin with Sergei Parajanov

Why this might not seem so easy

Sergei Parajanov is remembered as one of the Soviet Union’s most unique visionaries, though during his lifetime he was hounded as a dangerous subversive under the state’s iron insistence on conformity. Born in Georgia of Armenian descent, he studied film in Moscow but is above all a voice of the Caucasus satellite states, transforming their folklore into visual poetry as inscrutable as it is oneiric.

Not only was his cinema a grand departure from the didactic socialist realism the authorities demanded, its focus on national heroes and martyrs aroused their suspicions, as if it might ignite such pride locals would make an independence break from the wider communist colossus.

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Troubling the state most of all – or offering its simplest excuse for silencing him – was Parajanov’s bisexuality. When he was arrested in