The exhibition Temple of Cinema #1: Sayat Nova Outtakes is above all a signal that there is a need to create a repository where films from the Caucasus can be preserved, studied and disseminated again. This symposium attempts to generate a blueprint for this ambition.
An international ensemble of specialists and filmmakers teams up for a day-long exploration of the challenges and opportunities of restoring a Parajanov film. Speakers include film researcher Daniel Bird (who recently initiated several Parajanov restorations), the French specialist on Soviet and Russian cinema Valerie Pozner and the American film historian James Steffen, author of The Cinema of Parajanov (2014), the first comprehensive English-language study on the subject. Coming from Armenia are the founder of the Parajanov museum Zaven Sarsgyan, and the archaeologist, ethnographer and former Parajanov actor Levon Abrahamyan. This symposium is co-produced by The Piet Zwart Institute (The Lens-Based Media study path).
