"The Color of Pomegranates" Part of the Sarkis Film Series

In conjunction with the exhibition, Sarkis: Alive and After, SFAI will host a series of free public film screenings in the Lecture Hall. The films, selected by Sarkis as those that have influenced his practice, include Wang Bing's rarely screened 10-hour film Tie Xi Qu: West of Tracks. The film screening dates are as follows, all screenings take place at 7:30pm unless otherwise noted: The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet (October 3); The Color of Pomegranates, Sergei Paradjanov (October 10); Ice, Robert Kramer (October 17); Stalker, Andreï Tarkovski (October 24); 1+1 (Sympathy for the Devil), Jean-Luc Godard (October 31); Tie Xi Qu: West of Tracks (Saturday & Sunday, November 4 & 5, 11am-2pm, 2:30pm-5:30pm, 7pm-10pm); The Seasons, Artavazd Pelechian (TBA).

Free and Open to the Public

The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova)
1970
Sergei Paradjanov's first feature after Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964) traces thelife of a great 18th-century Armenian poet and monk, Sayat Nova, through his writings. The history and heritage of the Armenian nation and people--a history of Turkish genocide, Persian invasions, and a vast migration to the Russian section in the early 20th century; a heritage of ceremony, iconography, and architectural styles drawn from the Bible--are represented in daringly symbolic imagery. (Jean Vidal notes,” There are as many symbols as there are takes. One example: three piles of wool--red, blue and orange--fall onto the scale of the dyer, father of Sayat Nova. These are the colors of the Armenian flag...") The Color of Pomegranates was shown in Soviet theaters for two weeks and then banned when its symbolism was "decoded." The director was sentenced to five years imprisonment on various unrelated charges. A partial restoration of the Soviet-censored print made the rounds of the Paris film clubs and created a reaction which led to the eventual release of Paradjanov from the prison camps, although he is still forbidden to work. The film was shown at Cannes in 1978 and at the New York Film Festival in 1980.

Directed and Written by Sergei Paradjanov, based on the writings of Sayat Nova. Produced by Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijan Studios in the Soviet Union. (1970, 90 mins, In Armenian with English titles, 35mm, Color)


Film Notes Courtesy of Pacific Film Archive