Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, Sergei Paradjanov

Dates: 1-15 March | Location: BFI Southbank, London

The BFI introduce the nearest-to-complete survey yet of the work of the late Georgian/Armenian film director and artist Sergei Paradjanov (1929–1990), whose work makes him one of the most visionary directors of all time. In the influential Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (1964), Colour of Pomegranates (1968) and Ashik Kerib (1988), films which show Paradjanov’s trademark style, each shot is a three-dimensional collage simultaneously self-standing and integral to the film, where heterogeneous elements are juxtaposed, framed and re-framed; where narrative is continuously fragmented.

To coincide with the season, artist Mat Collishaw has created a new piece of work in response to the work of Paradjanov, which you can view in the BFI Gallery from 26 February – 9 May. For the project the artist has used a combination of antique objects and contemporary forms of moving image devices, from traditional photographic stills to digital imaging techniques in order to make a new installation which is defined by his very distinctive style and yet poetically conveys the spirit of Paradjanov’s artistic endeavor.

To celebrate this season, we asked writer Ajay Hothi for his thoughts on Paradjanov and Collishaw – read what he has to say here on APEngine.

Competition: We have two pairs of tickets to any film in the Paradjanov season, courtesy of the BFI. To win simply answer this question: which film was Paradjanov’s first celebrated feature – Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors or The Color of Pomegranates? Email your answer to engine@animateprojects.org before 28 February.