Immerse Yourself in Kino Armenia: A Triad of Past and Present

“When free-souled sons Armenia bears,
These days of coldness past,
And fires of love and brotherhood —
Are lighted up at last” — Bedros Tourian

Discover the vibrant landscape of Armenian film at the SIFF Film Center this September. The first program in a series of global cinema will focus on Armenia, through a triptych of curated films that connect the past and present of Armenian cinema, exiled and domestic. Join the journey on September 20.

SIFF is delighted to host filmmaker Zara Jian’s North American premiere of I will revenge this world with Love, a rich tapestry of Paradjanov’s work through the confessions and anecdotes of his closest collaborators and followers. The film features prominent auteurs Artavazd Peleshyan and Emir Kusturica, as well as an array of artists sanctified by Paradjanov’s fearless opposition to authorities and State ideology. The film premiered last autumn at the Venice Biennale.

Paired with the premiere, SIFF is pleased to announce the screenings of Sergei Paradjanov’s masterpiece The Color of Pomegranates and Atom Egoyan’s melancholic Calendar. Both films immerse audiences into minds of audacious visionaries, rich with poetic imagery and longing. Director Atom Egoyan is scheduled to deliver a personal video introduction of Calendar for SIFF audiences.

After the screening of I will revenge this world with Love, SIFF will host a lecture and Q&A with Zara Jian led by film educator Timofey Pozhitkov. This lecture expands beyond Paradjanov to explore the Armenian New Wave of the 1960s–70s, sparked by Frunze Dovlatyan’s Cannes debut and national resistance movements in 1965. The lecture will examine key films like Nahapet, the early works of Artavazd Peleshyan, alongside the visual arts of Minas Avetisyan and Karen Aghamyan.

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