The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov

Chronology

xv In addition to my own research, sources for this chronology include: Karen Kalantar, Ocherki o Paradzhanove (Yerevan: Izd-vo Gitutiun NAN RA, 1998); “Khronika zhizni i tvorchestva Sergeia Paradzhanova (Sargisa Paradzhaniantsa ),” in Sergei Paradzhanov and Zaven Sarkisian, Kaleidoskop Paradzhanova (Yerevan: Muzei Sergeia Paradzhanova, 2008), 9–17; and “Khronika zhizni i tvorchestva,” in Sergei Paradzhanov: Kollazh na fone avtoportreta, ed. Kora Tsereteli, 2nd ed. (Nizhnii Novgorod: Dekom, 2008), 17–21. 1890: Birth of Sergei Parajanov’s father Iosif (Hovsep). 1894: Birth of mother Siran Bezhanova. 1917: Iosif and Siran married. 1922: Birth of sister Anna. 1923: Birth of sister Ruzanna. January 9, 1924: Birth of Sergei Iosifovich Parajanov. 1932–1942: Studied in Tbilisi Russian Middle School No. 42. 1941–1943: Worked in the toy factory “Soviet Toy” in Tbilisi during the war. 1942: Enrolled in the Tbilisi Institute of Railway Transport. Left the Institute that winter. 1943–1945: Studied in the Voice Department at the Tbilisi Conservatory and performed in a concert troupe serving military hospitals. Also studied violin and dance. 1945: Applied and was admitted to the VGIK (All-Union State Institute of Cinematography), in the directing workshop of Igor Savchenko. 1947: Worked as an assistant on The Third Strike (dir. Igor Savchenko). Summer 1948: Arrested in Tbilisi on charges of homosexuality in the Nikolai Mikava scandal, spent several months in jail. 1950: Worked as an assistant on Taras Shevchenko (dir. Igor Savchenko). The film was finished by Savchenko’s students after he passed away. Alexander Dovzhenko took over the workshop at the VGIK. Chronology Chronology xvi  Chronology January 1951: Married first wife, Nigyar Seraeva, in Moscow. She was killed on February 13, 1951. Parajanov subsequently shot diploma film, A Moldovan Fairy Tale, on location in Moldova. June 28, 1952: Graduated from the VGIK. Sent to work at the Kyiv Film Studio as a director. 1952: Worked as an assistant on Maximka (dir. Vladimir Braun). May 1955: First feature film Andriesh (co-directed by Yakov Bazelian) released. November 1955: Married Svetlana Shcherbatiuk. November 10, 1958: Birth of son Suren. 1958–1960: Shot the documentary shorts Natalia Uzhvy, Dumka, and Golden Hands. July 1959: The Top Guy released. September 1961: Ukrainian Rhapsody released. 1962: Death of father, Iosif. March 1962: Divorce from Svetlana Shcherbatiuk. September 1962: The Flower on the Stone released. Winter 1964–1965: Wrote the initial literary scenario for Kyiv Frescoes. Project launched by the Dovzhenko Film Studio in spring 1965. September 4, 1965: Political protest accompanied the Kyiv premiere screening of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. October 1965: Shot the screen tests for Kyiv Frescoes. Spring 1966: Kyiv Frescoes shut down by the authorities. April 1966: Vahagn Mkrtchian, director of Armenfilm Studio, invited Parajanov to shoot Sayat-Nova (later retitled The Color of Pomegranates) in Armenia. 1967: Preparatory work on The Color of Pomegranates. Work begun on the autobiographical script Confession. Shot the documentary film Hakob Hovnatanyan. 1968: Wrote the script Ara the Fair. 1969: Wrote the script The Slumbering Palace. Completed the script Confession. October 1969: The Color of Pomegranates released in Yerevan. August 1970: The Color of Pomegranates released in Moscow in the version reedited by Sergei Yutkevich. 1971: Wrote the script The Demon. Spring 1971–Spring 1972: Worked on the production Intermezzo (Dovzhenko Film Studio) until its cancellation. December 1, 1971: Speech in Minsk. 1972: Wrote the script The Golden Edge. Chronology  xvii December 1972–March 1973: Worked on the production Inga (alternate title When a Person Smiled), then was removed as director. 1973: Wrote the script for A Miracle in Odense in collaboration with Viktor Shklovsky. The film was launched into preproduction by Armenfilm in December 1973. November 1973: Left Tbilisi for Kyiv because his son was gravely ill with typhus. December 17, 1973: Arrest in Kyiv. April 23–25, 1974: Trial and conviction. July 1974–April 1975: Imprisonment in “severe regime” camp Gubnik (Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine). February 1975: Death of mother, Siran. April 1975–August 1976: Imprisonment in Strizhavka camp (Vinnytsia oblast). August 1976–December 1977: Imprisonment in Perevalsk camp (Voroshilovgrad oblast). December 30, 1977: Released from prison, returned to Tbilisi. 1978: Wrote letter to the authorities in Armenia requesting to film adaptations of Ara the Fair and David of Sasun. August 4, 1978: Lilya Brik passed away. Parajanov attended her funeral in Moscow. January 1980: Interview with the French reporter H. Anassian, published in the January 27 issue of Le Monde. October 31, 1981: Attended the Artistic Council...