In collaboration with the Freer Gallery of Art, Post-Classical Ensemble, the Embassy of Armenia, and the National Cinema Center of Armenia, this cycle of short and feature-length films is presented as part of a celebration of Armenian music, art, and history occurring simultaneously at several Washington institutions. Special thanks to the Embassy of Armenia and Post-Classical Ensemble.
The Color of Pomegranates preceded by Kiev Frescoes
February 29, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.
Freer Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Preceding the feature is the American premiere of a restored short film by Parajanov, Kiev Frescoes, composed of outtakes from an uncompleted film project. (Sergei Parajanov, 1966, 13 minutes)
The Color of Pomegranates is Sergei Parajanov’s masterpiece, a dreamlike kinetic pictograph based on the life and writings of the eighteenth-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat Nova. Mingling tableaux, ritual, metaphor, music, and poetry, the film attempts to recount the poet’s inner life while following his story from childhood through death, incorporating a tradition of Armenian miniature painting in the telling. The powerful imagery and expressive music aroused controversy when the film was first released in the USSR. (Sergei Parajanov, 1969, subtitles, 75 minutes) Commentary by Levon Abrahamyan, Joseph Horowitz, Peter Rollberg, and Daniel Bird.
https://www.nga.gov/calendar/film-programs/armenian-odyssey.html