The institute champions the legacy of the brothers-in-arts Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) & Mikhail Vartanov (1937-2009) who overcame persecution and won the admiration of cinema’s greatest artists.
“The Color of Pomegranates by Parajanov, in my opinion one of the best contemporary film directors, strikes with its perfection of beauty.”
— MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI
“Vartanov’s film Parajanov: The Last Spring was created under prohibitive conditions and yet exemplifies the power of art over any limitations.”
— FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
Parajanov created the masterpieces Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964) and The Color of Pomegranates (1969).
Vartanov filmed the timeless documentaries The Color of Land (1969), Seasons (1975), and The Last Spring (1992).
The work of Parajanov and Vartanov, as a director and a cinematographer, respectively, has been voted among the greatest films of all time by BFI.
The institute’s founder is their disciple and UCLA alum Martiros M. Vartanov — Boy With a Movie Camera.
Parajanov & Vartanov Letters
“My dear friend Sergei Iosifovich [Parajanov]…as for me, I’m certain that you’ve come into this world to counterbalance mediocrity and swinishness…when I think of you [in prison] I don’t want to live…”
“Vartanov…my brother-in-arts…you possess everthing an artist needs – mind, kindness, principles, freedom… Create…perhaps you’re the only friend who compels me to live…”
Quotes about Parajanov & Vartanov
“With the death of Parajanov, cinema lost one of its magicians. Parajanov’s fantasy will forever fascinate and bring joy to the people of the world…”
— FEDERICO FELLINI
GIULIETTA MASINA
FRANCESCO ROSI
ALBERTO MORAVIA
MARCELLO MASTROIANNI
BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI
TONINO GUERRA
“Vartanov’s film, Parajanov: The Last Spring, about the last days of our great Parajanov, excited and filled me with the strength to resume the way of the magnificent tale that the Maestro had taken.”
— TONINO GUERRA
“In the temple of cinema there are images, light and reality. Sergei Paradjanov was the master of that temple…”
— JEAN-LUC GODARD
“…Mikhail Vartanov…made a wonderful film Parajanov: The Last Spring…”
— MARTIN SCORSESE
“Always with huge gratitude and pleasure I remember the films of Sergei Parajanov, which I love very much. His way of thinking, his paradoxical poetical… ability to love the beauty and ability to be absolutely free within his own vision.”
— ANDREI TARKOVSKY
“Probably, besides the film language suggested by Griffith and Eisenstein… cinema has not discovered anything revolutionarily new until (Parajanov’s) The Color of Pomegranates…”
— MIKHAIL VARTANOV
“My dear friend (Vartanov)…should you like the (screenplay) Desert, together we could make a masterpiece…”
— ARTAVAZD PELESHIAN
“We have to ensure that the work of seminal artists like Vartanov is preserved…his films…made under the harshest conditions…are crucial to the important heritage of world cinema.”
— AGNIESZKA HOLLAND
“Vartanov…the Eyemoman…”
— WILLIAM SAROYAN
Now available: The Colour of Pomegranates by Sergei Paradjanov, The Color of Armenian Land by Mikhail Vartanov, and The Last Film by Martiros Vartanov on Criterion Collection Blu-ray/DVD.
PARAJANOV.com — a widely quoted website — was thought up in 1995 at San Francisco Film Festival, then concieved in 1999 in Hollywood, and born in 2001 to unite the fans, friends and family of the legendary director and artist Sergei Paradjanov (1924-1990).
The website strives to correct the inaccurate information on Paradjanov in media: tries to ensure that all things Paradjanov are presented in the most respectful manner; has publicized and stopped the sale of what our experts believed were forged Parajanov artworks; and over the years has been successful in its goal of familiarizing the world more
closely with the art of this great master. In 2010, the continuation of this work has been
ensured by the foundation of the Parajanov-Vartanov Institute.
Parajanov-Vartanov Institute 
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