Please note: This was screened in July 2024
On this 100th anniversary of his birth, we celebrate Sergei Parajanov’s enduring legacy at a unique single-screen picture palace a short trip from Bristol, in the seaside town of Clevedon. Originally opened in 1912, expanded in the 1920s and still in operation as a cinema today, Curzon Cinema & Arts has a rich history and grand tradition of cinema-going as an event.
On Sun 28 July, the doors will be open from 14:30 for ticket holders to wander through the cinema building with a behind-the-scenes look before the screening starts at 15.30.
What better setting to experience Armenian-born filmmaker's celebrated portrait of 18th century Armenian poet Sayat Nova, the 'King of Song'.
Parajanov's aim was not a conventional biography but a cinematic expression of his work, resulting in an extraordinary visual poem. Key moments in his subject's life are illustrated through a series of exquisitely orchestrated tableaux filled with rich colour and stunning iconography, each scene a celluloid painting alive with stylised movement.
Deemed inaccessible by Soviet authorities, it was re-cut and given a nominal release under the title The Colour of Pomegranates. This restored version presents 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.
Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Cineteca di Bologna, in association with the National Cinema Centre of Armenia and Gosfilmofond of Russia, and funded by the Material World Charitable Foundation.
Note that this film contains scenes of animal slaughter.