Sergei Parajanov

Film director and artist

1924–1990

Sergei (Sergo) Parajanov (1924–1990) was a film director and artist, one of world cinema's most original authors. Born in Tbilisi to an Armenian family, he remained tied to Georgia all his life.

His films («Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors», «The Colour of Pomegranates», «The Legend of Suram Fortress», «Ashik Kerib») are moving carpets of images, where tableau, colour and ritual matter more than plot. Parajanov survived prison and years banned from his profession but remained a symbol of the free artist; his two Georgian films were made at the Gruzia-Film studio.