The Colour of Pomegranates
Wed 02 OctSergei Parajanov was born in Tbilisi in 1924 to Armenian parents. Considered to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and in his centenary year, we are delighted to be opening the 2024 Georgian Film Festival with one of his most original and compelling films, The Colour of Pomegranates, restored in 2014 by The World Cinema Project.
Martin Scorsese compared the film to ‘opening a door and walking into another dimension, where time has stopped and beauty has been unleashed’. Through a series of cinematic tableaux chapters, the film tells the story from childhood to death, of the life of the revered 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat Nova. Using Nova’s poetry, mixing ethnic rituals with surrealistic happenings, Parajanov creates a cinematic visualisation of Sayat Nova’s life and philosophy. The film is also notable by the incredible performance of Georgian actress Sofiko Chiaureli, who plays 6 roles both male and female, characterised by queer and androgynous imagery.
Introduction
The film will be introduced by writer, filmmaker, and film expert Daniel Bird, who has overseen many restorations of great film classics. His 2011 film The World Is a Window is about the making of the Colour of Pomegranates.
Restored in 2014 by Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, in association with the National Cinema Centre of Armenia and Gosfilmofond of Russia. Restoration funding provided by the Material World Charitable Foundation and The Film Foundation.
See also