Sergei Parajanov is a large-scale, controversial and mystical personality. I saw his collages in the literary museum on Zubovsky and was overwhelmed by the exciting feeling of childhood: an abundance of bright color, sound and air. This Parajanovsky sadness, it overtakes suddenly and inevitably. In creating my posters, paying tribute to the great Master, I tried to follow his path as a researcher: all posters were collected by hand. I thank the Russian Ethnographic Museum for the opportunity to use images from its collection.
The film «The Legend of the Suram Fortress» is a leisurely story about a young man with blue eyes who sacrificed himself for the prosperity of his land. According to legend, he immured himself in the fortress so that it could protect his people from the attacks of enemies. On the one hand, this is a dedication to all the defenders of Georgia, on the other hand, a song about the beauty of life, the smell of a bread cake, the warmth of the hearth — about human values, the beauty of a woman and a warm child’s palm.
The film «The Color of Pomegranates» is a poetic film parable by Sergei Parajanov about the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova. In my opinion, this is the circle of life: a person is born, goes through his life’s journey and dies. There is no sadness in this film. Only love. Music. The expanses of Armenia. And lots of color.
My ancestors were born in a Ukrainian village in the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine. My second language is Ukrainian. As a child, the Ukrainian literature program included works by Ukrainian writers: Mykhailo Kotsyubinsky, Taras Shevchenko, Lesya Ukrainka. I remember: the Milky Way is the salt that the Chumaks, the Ukrainian Cossacks, scattered. The film «Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors» is a love story between Ivan and Marichka despite death against the backdrop of the beauty of Ukrainian nature and everyday life. The picture itself is more of a painting than a movie: Parajanov selects symbolic colors, objects, and costumes. It’s as if he’s putting together a Christmas round dance and inviting us to carol.