Sofiko Chiaureli

The Muse and the Magician

An interview with actor Sofiko Chiaureli, who starred in several Parajanov films

The Lighthouse

Lena returns to her home in a remote, war-ravaged Armenian village to try and persuade her grandparents to leave with her for safety in Moscow.

Memories of «Sayat Nova»

A short documentary by Levon Grigoryan about the making of Parajanov's «Sayat-Nova», or «The Colour of Pomegranates».

Summerhouse for Sale

A single and not so young poet living in Moscow suddenly discovers that his summerhouse was sold by crooks to two different people.

The Train Went on and on

This is the story of the Tbilisi-Batumi train, which, due to a switchman's mistake, first enters the line of occupation of the Georgian region of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, then the train enters the city of Chiatura.

Sergei Parajanov: The Rebel

This documentary is not a straightforward portrait of Armenian film director Sergei Paradjanov's life, but rather a fluid celebration of his talent and creativity. Focusing on the collages he produced during his years in prison, and featuring interviews with the director himself, Cazals' film demonstrates the scope of Paradjanov's artistic vision, lovingly commemorating this rebel of art cinema.

Only Time...

The last day of the year ends. At the Christmas market, where a lot of people were still bustling during the day, in the evening there were only three snow-covered graces, three beautiful women. They have nowhere to hurry, no one is waiting for them at home. And here, at the Christmas market...

ნუცას სკოლა

Nika, who was widowed earlier, will regain the ancestral estate after the collapse of the Soviet Union. There, he will organize a school for disabled children, such as his daughter. A school based on love and kindness soon produces amazing results, but in the village there will be many opponents to this initiative.

The Ark

A man whose parents were killed and whose estate was confiscated during Soviet times returns to his ancestral village to build a school for disabled children.

Paradjanov: A Requiem

An absorbing portrait of one of the most colorful and revered figures in world cinema, 'Paradjanov: A Requiem' offers an affectionate and insightful look at the tumultuous career of the late Sergei Paradjanov; artist, dissident, romantic and iconoclast.

Parajanov: The Last Spring

Made in wartime and edited in candlelight, Vartanov's rarely-seen masterpiece tells about his friendship with the genius Parajanov who was imprisoned by KGB "at the height of his fame ". Vartanov resurrects the riveting scenes from his banned 1969 film The Color of Armenian Land, where Paradjanov concocts the chef-d'oeuvre The Color of Pomegranates - widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time - then reveals the shocking request Parajanov sent him in unpublished 1974 letters from Ukrainian prisons. Vartanov's camera documents Parajanov's staggering last day at work in 1990 during the making of the unfinished Confession - which survives in The Last Spring - as Parajanov comments on this cherished autobiographical film. The foremost achievement of The Last Spring, emphasized by critics, is Vartanov's exquisite wordless montage that "evoked the very soul" of Parajanov and earned the praise of many of cinema's greatest masters, such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

I Was Disgraceful, I Am Leaving

A meeting with a Georgian guy distracts a hopelessly ill girl from her worries. With the help of his parents, they go to Israel for a medical consultation.

Flight of the moth

Hiding from the police captain, a prostitute ends up in the room of a quiet, modest pianist from the United States who takes part in a competition in the resort town by the sea. The naive young man gets carried away by a pretty and cheerful girl. In turn, she finds great, sincere love.

Wandering Stars

A drama based on classical novel by Sholom Aleichem.

The Confession

The Confession (1990) survives in Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992) in its original camera negative. It remained unfinished due to the death of Sergei Parajanov. The Confession (1990) was his favorite screenplay, which was written in the 1960s and was his film-memory of the childhood, student years, marriage, imprisonment and more as the fantasist Parajanov perceived it. Parajanov gifted the screenplay to Mikhail Vartanov, made a drawing on the cover and wrote: "The Confession will only be made by a director born in 1924 in Tiflis, Georgia." He predicted that he would not finish it.

Ashik Kerib

Wandering minstrel Ashik Kerib falls in love with a rich merchant's daughter, but is spurned by her father and forced to roam the world for a thousand and one nights. Now presumed dead by those he loves, he performs for the poor and unfortunate on his journeys through the wilderness. Parajanov's visually ravishing 'tableaux vivants' tell Lermontov's romantic tale while Turkish and Azerbaijani folk songs transport us into its mystical landscapes.

Enclosure

In one of the developing countries, local and Soviet geologists discovered a tantalum ore deposit. Having learned about this, the CIA now intends to draw the country into the American sphere of influence: to incite discontent among religious communities, organize student unrest and provoke a severance of diplomatic ties with the USSR...

The Legend of Suram Fortress

A film version of a well-known Georgian folk-tale. A young boy has to be immured into the walls of a fortress in order to stop it from crumbling to pieces.

A Million in a Wedding Basket

In the densely populated slums live large but poor family of charming and talented signor Leonido Popogatto. Under the guise of an important person he enters the secular parties and steals drinks and food from the tables.

Georgians In The Sky

The Messenger of God appears to the passengers of the plane and asks each of them about their sins. An extreme situation reveals the hidden nature of people.

Vacation of Petrov and Vasechkin, Usual and Incredible

In the first part, the students complain that classic works of literature have no bearing on modern life - and find themselves in a situation strangely resembling something they've read... It's Gogol's "Inspector General" - but set in a summer camp... In the second part, after reading Don Quixote, the ever-adventurous Vasechkin convinces more cautious Petrov that he has found a game that they could play for life. No sooner they go off than Vasechkin, on a bike, brandishing an umbrella, attacks a giant... That is, a windmill...

Look for a Woman

The story begins when Alice Postique, who had to stay late at work, discovers her boss Roche with a knife in his back. When the police detective arrives, Alice recognizes him as her old friend.

A Piece of Sky

Nothing is easy for Torik, a shy orphan adopted by his aunt and uncle: he struggles to fit into village life, learn a craft, or find a wife. When Torik does fall in love – with Anjel, a local prostitute – he must face down the disapproval of his narrow-minded community and assert his right to happiness.

Adventures of Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves

The movie is based on the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, from the One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Tales. The role of Ali Baba is played by Dharmendra and Hema Malini play Morjina.

The Call

First Part "The Call" :The orphan boy is raise by his grandmother. Disturbed by his mischiefs she decides to let boy's grandfather take care of him. Between them, the boy and his grandfather, a lovely relationship develops. Second Part "Hellados": Tells a story about the friendship between Greek and Georgian boys

Some Interviews on Personal Matters

Sophiko, a well-known journalist, seems to be more close to many of her respondents when they need her advice than to his family members. All engrossed in her work, she suddenly finds out that she is losing her husband who has started a love affair with another woman. Of course, it strikes her badly but life never lets her to concentrate on her personal problems.

Arevik

Arevik is a young woman taking care of the children of a widower who is in jail, due to her testimony.

Comedy of mistakes

Two pairs of twins, once separated, find each other in the comedy finale. But before giving them the joy of this meeting, fate finally forces everyone to go through a series of adventures, sometimes funny, and sometimes dramatic ...

The Wishing Tree

Marita arrives at a small village in Georgia to live with her aunt. She meets a poor young lad, Gedia, and falls in love with him. But her relatives are determined to marry the girl off to a local rich man…

The Boys From Lilac Street

The story about the friendship between a Soviet fighter squadron pilot and the children stuck in a city destroyed by the enemy during WW2.

The Sand Will Stay

The construction of an irrigation channel in the Alazni Valley faces many obstacles . Common welfare requires compromises , and no one wants that . Vazha , the chief construction engineer , will be at the center of the contradictions .

The Little Incident

A cult of diners, restaurants and an excessive eating prevails in the City of Joy. Different contests are held in cooking the Georgian cuisine. Makro, a famous singer, decides to lend some spirituality to the city of gluttons. For that purpose she decides to set up a gallery of beautiful paintings in one of the city’s restaurants. The owners of the restaurant oppose that decision, but due to Makro’s agility the tenants of the city carry the paintings to the new museum.

Melodies of the Vera Quarter

This musical is based on old Georgian vaudevilles and plays. The early 20th century. Old Tiflis is in confusion and turmoil. A mysterious fairy is helping the poor Pavle’s family: real wood is burning in his old, neglected fireplace, wherein a pot with meat would suddenly appear. The good fairy is impersonated by laundress Vardo who helps not only the poor Pavle, but other families in this quarter as well. Vardo is known to many people in the town, but no one ever suspected that she was capable of performing miracles. The film’s colorful folk melodies, merry songs and fiery dances leave no viewer indifferent. Starring in the leading role is the great Georgian actress Sofiko Chiaureli.

The Life

The film tells the life of a Georgian woman from 1920s to the present day. Love, marriage, Russian annexation and collectivization, world war, loss of children - Sidonia went through many sorrows and troubles on her way of life, but she always maintained spiritual courage and hope for the future.

Chermen

This historic drama is set in an Ossetian village in the 17th century. The film’s main hero is Chermen. An illegitimate son, Chermen is striving to assert his dignity. He is opposed by Dacco, the elder of the Aldar clan, in whose village Chermen lives. Guided by mercenary motives, Dacco strikes a deal with Prince Tsarai. Together, they rob people and then divide the loot between themselves. By some chance, Chermen learns of the deal and informs his friends about it. At first, he thinks that no one in the Aldar village would believe him, the bastard, and that the plot would remain unexposed. But the friends accept the challenge.

The Color of Armenian Land

In his wordless debut film, Mikhail Vartanov presents the ancient and modern art of Armenia through the post-impressionist painter Martiros Saryan’s silent commentary of gestures. Biblical landscapes, the ruins of temples, frescos, cross-stones, contemporary sculptures of Tchakmakchian (Chakmakchyan), the first appearance on film of iconic modernist painter Minas and his paintings, as well as the world famous behind-the-scenes episodes of Sergei Parajanov’s landmark "The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova)." The film had its first public screening at one of the world’s largest and prestigious cinematic events, the Busan International Film Festival, 43 years after it was made.

The Color of Pomegranates

The life of the revered 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova. Portraying events in the life of the artist from childhood up to his death, the movie addresses in particular his relationships with women, including his muse. The production tells Sayat-Nova's dramatic story by using both his poems and largely still camerawork, creating a work hailed as revolutionary by Mikhail Vartanov.

Don't Grieve!

Benjamin, the local doctor is a soul of a local society, the educated, friendly, democratic person who often treats the poor for free. It makes him very popular with the locals but most certainly does not help with his bank account. He is in love with a beautiful Manette who is also crazy about him but is being watched closely by her father who called his daughter "his small capital" and is determined to protect her virginity until the moment the marriage contract has been signed...

Transfiguration

A theater director with a normal middle-class life in Tbilisi becomes increasingly disturbed after witnessing a murder, obsessing about whether he could have done anything to prevent it.

Someone Is Running Late For The Bus

The film is about the painful feeling of unrequited love and introduces us to the episode of the life of a young, virtuous and intelligent doctor, who is tired of the monotony of life.

Ballad of Khevsureti

When Imeda’s father is killed in a blood revenge accident, the family moves him to the city where he is sheltered at his father’s friend. After fifteen year he gets back to Khevsureti. A talented painter, he spends most of his time doing sketches of nature and people. There he meets a local beauty, Mzekala and fells in love with her but finds out that Torghva is also in love with her. Enraged by Imeda’s impudence Torghva calls him for a sword fight and is killed by Imeda. To avoid another round of blood revenge, the villagers let Imeda and Mzekala out of the village but someone who wants Imeda’s blood finds it out and follows them.

You Can't See What You Have Seen

The young craftsman Gogia and the village girl Tasia fall in love with each other. Arriving in Tasia's village accompanied by a wedding procession, Gogia Can't find his bride anymore, Turns out by the order of Tasia's godmother, the duke's wife, she was taken to the duke's house as a servant. The elderly duke liked Tasia and decided to marry her. Gogia with the help of his friends, Karachokheli, tries to get his bride back.

On the Side of Enguri

Georgian film.

Story of Young Girl

An Young, inexperiences girl had decided to live in the countryside, but she can't find her place among gloomy, unfriendly locals, Can't manage to do her job well. and decides to return to the city. However, her family thinks that her return would be inappropriate for their traditions.

Watercolor

A man tries to escape from his wife in order to visit an exhibition, where he sees a painting representing his own house.

In Our Courtyard

A lyrical story about the people of neighborhood in Tbilisi.