In 1960, Soviet Armenian film director Serghei Paradjanov’s never ending feast of a life is twice changed: he is to become the father of a boy and of a movie. A hit in Europe, SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS receives a cold welcome in the USSR. He leaves Ukraine for Armenia, where his bohemian lifestyle is unchanged and where he shoots SAYAT NOVA. Little does he know his every step is closely watched by the KGB. Arrested on suspicion of sodomy, Paradjanov spends five long years in prison, where he finds salvation in art. Upon his release, he returns to Georgia, where he directs THE LEGEND OF SURAM FORTRESS, a new frowned upon title back at home, a new masterpiece of world cinema. PARADJANOV was Ukraine’s official proposal for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2014 Academy Awards.
