MOVIE NIGHT: THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES

Part of American Cinematheque's series ‘Three Homelands: The Transcaucasian Cinema of Sergei Parajanov’

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 4 7:00 pm

Venue: Los Feliz Theatre
1822 N Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tickets: $13,00 GA $8.00 members
https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/the-color-of-pomegranates-12-4-24

Rotten Tomatoes: 94%: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_color_of_pomegranates

Trailer: https://youtu.be/ci1ddK_1h6E?si=wHTCYrd9iBbFpEMJ

### ABOUT THE FILMS:

“Hakob Hovnatanyan,” 1967, Dir. Sergei Parajanov, 9 Min, Soviet Union
Made prior to the shooting of THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES, this short documentary for the Yerevan Newsreel-Documentary Film Studio depicts the work of 19th century Tblisi-based Armenian portrait painter Hakob Hovnatanyan. Parajanov is less concerned with a biographical precis and largely focuses on the artist’s luminous canvases which combine elements of illuminated manuscripts with European figurative art.
FORMAT: DCP

THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES, 1969, Dir. Sergei Parajanov, 78 Min, Janus Films, Soviet Union
In a series of tableaux that blend the tactile with the abstract, THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES revives the splendors of Armenian culture through the story of the eighteenth-century troubadour Sayat-Nova, charting his intellectual, artistic, and spiritual growth through iconographic compositions rather than traditional narrative. The film’s tapestry of folklore and metaphor departed from the realism that dominated the Soviet cinema of its era, leading authorities to block its distribution, with rare underground screenings presenting it in a restructured form. This edition features the cut closest to Parajanov’s original vision, in a restoration that brings new life to one of cinema’s most enigmatic meditations on art and beauty.
FORMAT: DCP

NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/movies/the-color-of-pomegranates-sergei-parajanov.html

Sergei Parajanov Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Parajanov
Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni stated that “The Color of Pomegranates by Parajanov, in my opinion one of the best contemporary film directors, strikes with its perfection of beauty.” Parajanov was also admired by American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. French film director Jean-Luc Godard also stated that "In the temple of cinema, there are images, light, and reality. Sergei Parajanov was the master of that temple".

Despite having many admirers of his art, his vision did not attract many followers. "Whoever tries to imitate me is lost", he reportedly said

ABOUT THE SERIES:
'Three Homelands: The Transcaucasian Cinema of Sergei Parajanov'
Sat. Nov 23 - Wed. Dec 18, 2024
Egyptian Theatre and Los Feliz 3

The American Cinematheque and the UCLA Film & Television Archive are thrilled to partner in presenting a comprehensive film series honoring filmmaker Sergei Parajanov on the centennial of his birth. Born in 1924 to an Armenian family in Tbilisi, Georgia, Parajanov defied boundaries in life and art. Deeply knowledgeable of the rich traditions and cultures throughout Caucasia, Parajanov reimagined cinema as a vibrant fusing of movement, myth, music, ritual and folk arts. His approach was inclusive and open to diverse influences. At once both archaic and modernist, Parajanov’s cinema proudly stood out of time and beyond borders. Featuring a new restoration and scans from original camera negatives, 'Three Homelands' offers a complete look at one of cinema’s true visionaries.

Special thanks to our collaborators and partners: guest programmer Bernardo Rondeau, Daniel Bird, Cecilia Cenciarelli (Cineteca di Bologna), Olena Honcharuk (Dovzhenko Centre), Zaza Abashidze, Georgian Film, Cinema Foundation of Armenia.

Series Includes: SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS, “Hakob Hovnatanyan,” THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES, THE LEGEND OF SURAM FORTRESS, “Arabesques on the Theme of Pirosmani,” “Confession” and ASHIK KERIB