Paradjanov: A Requiem

An absorbing portrait of one of the most colorful and revered figures in world cinema, Paradjanov: A Requiem offers an affectionate and insightful look at the tumultuous career of the late Sergei Paradjanov; artist, dissident, romantic and iconoclast.

From his early years as a protégé of silent film legends Dovzhenko and Eisenstein, Paradjanov charts the evolution of the controversial director's artistry, which culminated in the creation of brilliant, hallucinatory film fantasies of Ukranian poetry and folk legends. Rather than being celebrated for this mesmerizing work, the Armenian director was branded a "surrealist" by Soviet authorities and imprisioned for his artistic and intellectual challenges to the reigning dogma of socialist realism.

Rare, extensive interviews with the outspoken director are interlaced with clips from Paradjanov's filmic sedcutions of the eye and imagination, including Ashik Kerib, The Legend Of Suram Fortress and Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors. Scenes form the director's earlier films, unavailable in the West (such as Andriesh, The First Lad, Ukranian Rhapsody), can be seen for the first time. Drawings, photographs and fragments of uncompleted films coalesce to make Paradjanov: A Requiem a revealing account of an unforgettable artist.