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Sergei Paradjanov _____________
Ukraine 1924-1990
However, in 1964 he was able to make Shadows of our Forgotten Ancestors, a rhapsodic celebration of Ukrainian folk culture, and the world discovered a startling and idiosyncratic new talent. He followed this up with the even more innovative The Colour of Pomegranates (which explored the art and poetry of his native Armenia in a series of stunningly beautiful tableaux), but by this stage the authorities had had enough, and Paradjanov spent most of the 1970s in prison on almost certainly rigged charges of 'homosexuality and illegal trafficking in religious icons'. However, with the coming of perestroika, he was able to make two further films before succumbing to cancer in 1990. (Internet Movie Database--IMDb.com)
MAJOR FILMS:
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Born in Georgia to Armenian parents, it was always unlikely that the work of Sergei Parajanov would conform to the strict socialist realism that the Soviet authorities preferred. After studying film and music, he became an assistant director at the Dovzhenko studios in Kiev, making his debut in 1954, which he followed with numerous shorts and features, all of which he subsequently dismissed as 'garbage'.