On Oct. 3, Zhovten movie theater in Kyiv started screening “Parajanov,” a biographical movie that Ukraine submitted for an Oscar nomination as Best Foreign Film.
Co-produced by Ukraine, France, Georgia and Armenia, the movie focuses on Serhiy Parajanov, a famous film director who was Armenian but who worked in Soviet Ukraine. One of his most famous works is “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” (1964), an adaptation of Ivan Franko’s novel of the same name.
In 1973, Parajanov was convicted of homosexuality, a criminal offense in Soviet Ukraine. He was convicted on the strength of testimony in court by a Communist Party member who said he was victimized by Parajanov while drunk. One of the legends about Parajanov is that he got a positive “review” of sorts from other prisoners, who reportedly said “We’ve only been saying ‘f*ck commies,’ but you literally did it.”
One of the other charges against the director was Ukrainian nationalism. “What kind of a Ukrainian nationalist am I? I’m a genius!” Parajanov says in a movie trailer.
The movie focuses on the most intense years of Parajanov’s career, featuring episodes of his best movies, confrontation with Soviet authorities and imprisonment. Parajanov was played by the charismatic Serge Avedikian, who also directed the movie.
In a recent interview to Radio Svoboda film producer and the head of Ukrainian Oscar committee, Oleh Fialko blamed the movie for not investigating Parajanov’s life deep enough. Nevertheless, “Parajanov” was chosen to represent Ukraine in Oscar’s Best Foreign Film nomination. While criticizing the movie, Fialko says it must be good for people who know little about Parajanov, including the young generation of Ukrainians.
The story of Ukraine’s submissions to the Best Foreign Film category is not long. Ukraine submitted movies nine times only during its years of independence, and the movies were never nominated. In 2004, “A Driver for Vera” was submitted and then disqualified, when jury discovered it was produced mostly in Russia.
“Parajanov” is screened in Zhovten movie theater (26 Kostyantynivska St.). Film runs in Ukrainian with English subtitles. For the schedule visit www.zhovten-kino.kiev.ua.
