Mikhail Vartanov
| Mikhail Vartanov Михаил Вартанов Միքայել Վարդանով |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
February 21, 1937 Chechen-Ingush ASSR, RSFSR, USSR (now Russian Federation) |
| Died | December 31, 2009 (aged 72) Hollywood, USA |
| Occupation | Director, cinematographer, screenwriter, art critic |
| Notable work | Parajanov: The Last Spring |
| Website | http://institute.parajanov.com |
Mikhail Vartanov (Russian: Михаил Вартанов, Armenian: Միքայել Վարդանով, French: Mikhaïl Vartanov b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Hollywood, California) was a film director, cinematographer, documentarian, essayist, photographer and artist who developed a style of documentary filmmaking termed the “direction of undirected action.”
His reputation as one of the most important cinematographers, documentarians and intellectuals of his generation was cemented by such influential documentary films as The Seasons of the Year, Parajanov: The Last Spring, and a series of essays including The Unmailed Letters.
Mikhail Vartanov dedicated his life to defending and supporting his close friend, the imprisoned genius Sergei Parajanov, whose talent he recognized in 1964, after watching at Moscow’s film school VGIK the landmark motion picture Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and the test footage of the unfinished Kiev Frescoes.
Mikhail Vartanov met Sergei Parajanov in 1967 in Armenia and shared his thoughts about the screenplay of the masterpiece The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova). Parajanov was impressed and they became close friends until the end.
Vartanov’s debut film, The Color of Armenian Land, marked the beginning of his trademark style, the “direction of undirected action.” This documentary, a silent commentary of gestures of painter Martiros Saryan, also featured Vartanov’s friends, the dissident artists Minas Avetisyan and Sergei Parajanov, for which the film was censored and suppressed; Avetisyan was assassinated and Parajanov was imprisoned shortly after.
His next film The Autumn Pastoral—written by Artavazd Peleshian and scored by composer Tigran Mansurian—was shelved. After Sergei Parajanov was arrested in Kiev in 1973, Mikhail Vartanov immediately protested to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. The recently declassified document proved that it was that letter in support of Parajanov that prompted the intensified harassment that Vartanov endured, and his subsequent firing from the Armenfilm Studios (4 months after Paradjanov’s imprisonment).
...
Wikipedia