Sergei Iosifovich Parajanov[a][b][c] (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. His films are known for their poetic,non-linear andsymbolic nature. Widely considered by filmmakers, film critics and film historians to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, he has been described as a "magician", a "master" and a "conjurer of cinematic worlds".[2][3][4]
Parajanov was born toArmenian parents inGeorgia. He studied in Russia at Moscow'sGerasimov Institute of Cinematography under the tutelage of Ukrainian filmmakersIgor Savchenko andOleksandr Dovzhenko, and began his career as professional film director in 1954. Parajanov became increasingly disenchanted of his films as well as the state sanctioned art style ofsocialist realism, prominent throughout the Soviet Union. His filmShadows of Forgotten Ancestors, his first major work which diverged from socialist realism, gave him international acclaim.[5][6] He would later disown and proclaim his films made before 1965 as "garbage."[3] Parajanov subsequently directedThe Color of Pomegranates, which was met with widespread acclaim among filmmakers, and is often considered one of thegreatest films ever made.[7][8]
Parajanov was said by Soviet authorities to be aclosetedbisexual, which exposed him to increased legal scrutiny from Soviet authorities over his personal life, his films, and political involvement surroundingUkrainian nationalism.[9][10][11] Nearly all of his film projects from 1965 to 1973 were banned by the Soviet film administrations, many without discussion.
Parajanov was born to artistically inclinedArmenians Iosif Parajanov and Siranush Bejanova on January 9, 1924, in Tiflis (known byTbilisi since 1936),Georgia, then part of theSoviet Union. Iosif was a merchant who owned an antique shop, trading jewelry and valuables. Due to the Soviet Union's ban on financialspeculation, Iosif's business was frequently subjected to arbitrary searches by authorities, who often raided his business and seized many of his valuables. Because it was impossible for his father to get his trading business legalised, a young Parajanov was often forced to swallow small jewelry pieces and defecate them once authorities withdrew from their search.[12][13] Parajanov attended a localrailway college before running away to attend theTbilisi State Conservatoire. He was later transferred to theMoscow Conservatory in 1945, where he studied alongside sopranoNina Dorliak.[13] Parajanov left the conservatory to enroll at the directing department at theS. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography; he studied under the tutelage of Ukrainian filmmakersIgor Savchenko andAlexander Dovzhenko.
Parajanov was accused by Soviet authorities of being aclosetedbisexual.[14][15] In 1948, he was arrested and charged with illegalhomosexual acts withMGB officer Nikolai Mikava in Tbilisi. He was sentenced to five years in prison and released under an amnesty after three months.[16] In video interviews, friends and relatives contest the truthfulness of anything Parajanov was charged with; they believe his sentencing was procured through akangaroo court due to his tendency for political retaliation and rebellious views.
In 1950, Parajanov married Nigyar Kerimova, who came from a MuslimTatar family, in Moscow. After Nigyar converted toEastern Orthodox Christianity, she was murdered by her relatives, who disapproved of the marriage. Parajanov subsequently moved toKiev,Ukraine, where he produced a few Russian and Ukrainian language documentaries (Dumka, Golden Hands, Natalia Uzhvy) and a handful of narrative films:Andriesh,The Top Guy, Ukrainian Rhapsody, andFlower on the Stone. He became fluent in Ukrainian and married Svitlana Ivanivna Shcherbatiuk (1938–2020) in 1956. She gave birth to his son Suran (d. 2021) in 1958[17][18][19]
In a 1988 interview, he stated, "Everyone knows that I have three motherlands. I was born in Georgia, worked in Ukraine and I'm going to die inArmenia."[20]
Andrey Tarkovsky's first film,Ivan's Childhood, had an enormous impact on Parajanov's self-discovery as a filmmaker. Later the influence became mutual, and he and Tarkovsky became close friends. Another influence was Italian filmmakerPier Paolo Pasolini, whom Parajanov would later describe as "like a God" to him and a director of "majestic style".[21] In 1965 Parajanov abandonedsocialist realism and directed the poeticShadows of Forgotten Ancestors, his first film over which he had complete creative control. It won numerous international awards and was well received by the Soviet authorities, who praised the film for "conveying the poetic quality and philosophical depth ofMykhailo Kotsiubynsky’s tale through the language of cinema," and called it "a brilliant creative success of theDovzhenko film studio." Authorities allowed the release of the film with its original Ukrainian soundtrack intact, rather than redubbing the dialogue into Russian for Soviet-wide release, in order to preserve its Ukrainian integrity.[22] (Russian dubbing was standard practice at that time for non-Russian Soviet films when they were distributed outside the republic of origin.)
In 1969, Parajanov moved toArmenia to work on his next film; this was the first time he had visited the country and instilled in him the influence to directSayat Nova.[23] It was shot under relatively poor conditions and had a very small budget.[20] UnlikeShadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Sayat Nova was not well received by Soviet authorities, who were quick to intervene and ban the film for its allegedly inflammatory content and lack ofsocialist realism. Parajanov re-edited the film and renamed itThe Color of Pomegranates.
Imprisonment, career hiatus, and other artistic ambitions
Since the early 1960s, Parajanov increasingly became the subject of attention by theKGB, for a variety of political activities related to his affinity towardsUkrainian nationalism. He was an active protester following the1965–1966 Ukrainian purge. In 1969 a report by theCommittee for State Security to theCentral Committee of the Ukrainian Communist party indicated their belief that Parajanov is a negative influence on his younger colleagues, as well as a key purveyor of ideologically harmful opinion. He was also deemed as someone with a desire to defect if he were to travel abroad.[12]
While he was incarcerated, Parajanov produced a large number of miniature doll-like sculptures (some of which were lost) and some 800 drawings and collages, many of which were later displayed inYerevan at theSergei Parajanov Museum, where they are now permanently located.[26] His efforts in the camp were repeatedly compromised by prison guards, who deprived him of materials and called him mad, their cruelty only subsiding after a statement from Moscow admitting that "the director is very talented."[20] After his return from prison to Tbilisi, the close watch of the Soviet authorities prevented Parajanov from continuing his cinematic pursuits and compelled him towards other artistic outlets he had nurtured during his time in prison. He crafted extraordinarily intricate collages, created a large collection of abstract drawings and pursued numerous other avenues of non-cinematic art, sewing more dolls and some whimsical suits.
In February 1982 Parajanov was once again arrested on charges of bribery, which happened to coincide with his return to Moscow for the premiere of a play commemoratingVladimir Vysotsky at theTaganka Theatre. He was released in less than a year, with his health seriously weakened.[24]
In 1985, the slow thaw within theSoviet Union spurred Parajanov to resume his passion for cinema. With the encouragement of variousGeorgian intellectuals, he directed the multi-award-winning filmThe Legend of Suram Fortress, along withDodo Abashidze, based on a novella byDaniel Chonkadze. This was his first return to cinema sinceSayat-Nova fifteen years earlier.
In 1988, Parajanov and Abashidze directedAshik Kerib, based on a story byMikhail Lermontov. It is the story of a wandering minstrel, set in theAzerbaijani culture. Parajanov dedicated the film to his close friendAndrei Tarkovsky and "to all the children of the world".
Parajanov was highly appreciated byAndrei Tarkovsky himself in the biographical film "Voyage in Time" ("Always with huge gratitude and pleasure I remember the films of Sergei Parajanov, which I love very much. His way of thinking, his paradoxical, poetical... ability to love beauty and the ability to be absolutely free within his own vision"). In the same film Tarkovsky stated that Parajanov is one of his favorite filmmakers.
Italian filmmakerMichelangelo Antonioni stated that “The Color of Pomegranates by Parajanov, in my opinion one of the best contemporary film directors, strikes with its perfection of beauty.” Parajanov was also admired by the American filmmakerFrancis Ford Coppola. French film directorJean-Luc Godard also stated that "In the temple of cinema, there are images, light, and reality. Sergei Parajanov was the master of that temple".
Despite having many admirers of his art, his vision did not attract many followers. "Whoever tries to imitate me is lost", he reportedly said.[29] However, directors such asTheo Angelopoulos,Béla Tarr andMohsen Makhmalbaf share Parajanov's approach to film as a primarily visual medium rather than as a narrative tool.[30]
In 2024, marking the 100th anniversary of Parajanov's birth, Ukrainian film makerTaras Tomenko made the documentary "A Sentimental Journey to the Parajanov Planet". The film premiered internationally at the 40thWarsaw Film Festival[32] where it won the 3rd place in the Audience Award for documentary films.[33]
Parajanov's life story provides (quite loosely) the basis for the 2006 novelStet by the American authorJames Chapman.[34]
Lady Gaga's video for "911" visually referencesThe Color of Pomegranates through much of the video.[35] The film poster also appears on the street scene at the end of the video.[36] Gaga's video presents the film's symbols in her own allegory of pain.[36]
Madonna's 1995 music videoBedtime Story restages some of the content from the movie[which?] (such as the scene of a young child lying in a fetal position on a pentagram on the floor while an adult covers it with a blanket, and another where a naked foot crushes a bunch of grapes lying on an enscribed tablet), among other artistic inspiration depicting dreams and surrealist artwork in the video.[37]
Without permissionNicolas Jaar released, in 2015, the albumPomegranates, intended as an alternative soundtrack forThe Color of Pomegranates and was asked by the Parajanov-Vartanov Institute to cancel the performance in Los Angeles.[38][39]
The Color of Pomegranates also influenced the alternative rock groupR.E.M.'s music video for "Losing My Religion".[40]
^Лауреати Національної премії [National Award Winners].Committee for the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). RetrievedJune 13, 2025.
Dixon, Wheeler & Foster, Gwendolyn. "A Short History of Film." New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008.ISBN9780813542690
Cook, David A. "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: Film as Religious Art."Post Script 3, no. 3 (1984): 16–23.
First, Joshua. Sergei Paradjanov: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. London and Chicago: Itellect; University of Chicago Press, 2016.ISBN9781783207091
Jayamanne, Laleen.Poetic Cinema and the Spirit of the Gift in the Films of Pabst, Parajanov, Kubrick and Ruiz. Amsterdam University Press 2021.ISBN9789463726245
Kim, Olga. “Cinema and Painting in Parajanov’s Aesthetic Metamorphoses.”Studies in Russian & Soviet Cinema 12, no. 1 (March 2018): 19–36. doi:10.1080/17503132.2017.1415519.
Nebesio, Bohdan. "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: Storytelling in the Novel and the Film."Literature/Film Quarterly 22, no. 1 (1994): 42–49.
Oeler, Karla. "A Collective Interior Monologue: Sergei Parajanov and Eisenstein's Joyce-Inspired Vision of Cinema."The Modern Language Review 101, no. 2 (April 2006): 472–487.
Oeler, Karla. "Nran guyne/The Colour of Pomegranates: Sergo Parajanov, USSR, 1969." InThe Cinema of Russia and the Former Soviet Union, 139–148. London, England: Wallflower, 2006. [Book chapter]
Papazian, Elizabeth A. "Ethnography, Fairytale and ‘Perpetual Motion’ in Sergei Paradjanov'sAshik- Kerib."Literature/Film Quarterly 34, no. 4 (2006): 303–12.
Liehm, Antonín J., ed.Serghiej Paradjanov: Testimonianze e documenti su l’opera e la vita. Venice: La Biennale di Venezia/Marsilio, 1977. (Italian language)
