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"My films are perhaps worse than Parajanov's films, but they are not
Parajanov." Roman Balayan
May 27 2014
On May 25, the premier of the Armenian version of the film director
Samvel Saribekyan's (Samo Spiuni) documental film "Flying Angels.
Roman Balayan" was showed at the Theatre named after Henrik Malyan.
The Russian version was shown earlier, in 2011, at the "Moscow"
cinema. The film tells the story of Ukrainian-resident famous Armenian
film director Roman Balayan's creative years, which becomes more
comprehensive and impressive through the memories and opinions of his
friends, colleagues, well-known actors, and film directors. The film
especially gives a great place to Balayan's film "Flights in Dreams
and in Reality", which Samo Spiuni explained by its actuality, and by
two more factors. First, when shooting his "Flying Angels. Roman
Balayan" film, 30 years of the "Flights" was marked, and secondly, as
said by Spiuni, Balayan has become famous by this film. "Becoming free
from Soviet stereotypes, he created the character of an individual.
Film Director Karen Shahnazarov says that the hero of the film is a
useless person, simply a rejected because he does not agree with all
that is happening around him, and expresses his fiery and unconscious
protest by not so adequate behavior. There are a lot of rejected
people now, and this is one of the reasons that I have devoted a large
section to that film," detailed Spiuni, in the conversation with
Aravot.am, and added that the end of the "Flights" is very symbolic
for him. "In the last episode, the film director is burying the
staring hero in a haystack, where he curls up, accepting the position
of an embryo, is crying in the feeling of his rebirth. In my opinion,
this is the story of Small Meher from "Daredevils of Sassoun" when the
film's hero, entering into a haystack, closes himself like Meher was
closing himself in Agravakar," said our interlocutor. Later, the
"Flying Angels. Roman Balayan" film is telling about Balayan's other
films, in short references, "Biryuk", "Save me my talisman", "Birds of
Paradise" and so on. In the film, Balayan confesses S. Parajanov's
great influence in his creative life, "If coming to Kiev, I had not
met with Parajanov, I could have become a film director, but what kind
of film director. I do not know. However, faced with such a giant, I
was under his influence for a long time, but my colleagues know that
I'm probably the only one that was able to get free from this
influence. Parajanov liked my thesis film, the "Thief," very much, but
I do not like it because it is completely Parajanov. Then I was able
to slip out of this influence. My films perhaps are worse than
Parajanov films but they are not Parajanov," says R. Balayan. In S.
Spiuni film, R. Balayan talks also about his decision on leaving
Armenia and living in Ukraine, as well as why he does not shoot an
Armenian film. "After graduating from the Institute of Theater in
Kiev, I came to Yerevan to shoot my thesis, but I was refused. I had
also works that I wanted to shoot, but all of them were rejected, and
I returned to Kiev. And every time visiting Armenia and Artsakh, the
journalists are always asking the same question whether I do not want
to shoot an Armenian film. When I was already recognized, the Armenian
studio was constantly suggesting me, but I was now rejecting," tells
the film director. And in the end of the film devoted to him, he
speaks about the clash between the Armenian art and reality. "Why
don't Armenians and Jews take "aspirin"?, he asks, because they do not
want the pain to go away, and more seriously, I want the Armenian
children's eyes be bright, bold, even impertinent; I want the traces
of Genocide be disappeared from the eyes of our children. For example,
when living in Armenia, I have seen how the Armenians are joking from
morning till evening, telling jokes, whereas there is always grief and
pathos in the art."
Siranush HAYRAPETYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2014/05/27/165434/
Parajanov." Roman Balayan
May 27 2014
On May 25, the premier of the Armenian version of the film director
Samvel Saribekyan's (Samo Spiuni) documental film "Flying Angels.
Roman Balayan" was showed at the Theatre named after Henrik Malyan.
The Russian version was shown earlier, in 2011, at the "Moscow"
cinema. The film tells the story of Ukrainian-resident famous Armenian
film director Roman Balayan's creative years, which becomes more
comprehensive and impressive through the memories and opinions of his
friends, colleagues, well-known actors, and film directors. The film
especially gives a great place to Balayan's film "Flights in Dreams
and in Reality", which Samo Spiuni explained by its actuality, and by
two more factors. First, when shooting his "Flying Angels. Roman
Balayan" film, 30 years of the "Flights" was marked, and secondly, as
said by Spiuni, Balayan has become famous by this film. "Becoming free
from Soviet stereotypes, he created the character of an individual.
Film Director Karen Shahnazarov says that the hero of the film is a
useless person, simply a rejected because he does not agree with all
that is happening around him, and expresses his fiery and unconscious
protest by not so adequate behavior. There are a lot of rejected
people now, and this is one of the reasons that I have devoted a large
section to that film," detailed Spiuni, in the conversation with
Aravot.am, and added that the end of the "Flights" is very symbolic
for him. "In the last episode, the film director is burying the
staring hero in a haystack, where he curls up, accepting the position
of an embryo, is crying in the feeling of his rebirth. In my opinion,
this is the story of Small Meher from "Daredevils of Sassoun" when the
film's hero, entering into a haystack, closes himself like Meher was
closing himself in Agravakar," said our interlocutor. Later, the
"Flying Angels. Roman Balayan" film is telling about Balayan's other
films, in short references, "Biryuk", "Save me my talisman", "Birds of
Paradise" and so on. In the film, Balayan confesses S. Parajanov's
great influence in his creative life, "If coming to Kiev, I had not
met with Parajanov, I could have become a film director, but what kind
of film director. I do not know. However, faced with such a giant, I
was under his influence for a long time, but my colleagues know that
I'm probably the only one that was able to get free from this
influence. Parajanov liked my thesis film, the "Thief," very much, but
I do not like it because it is completely Parajanov. Then I was able
to slip out of this influence. My films perhaps are worse than
Parajanov films but they are not Parajanov," says R. Balayan. In S.
Spiuni film, R. Balayan talks also about his decision on leaving
Armenia and living in Ukraine, as well as why he does not shoot an
Armenian film. "After graduating from the Institute of Theater in
Kiev, I came to Yerevan to shoot my thesis, but I was refused. I had
also works that I wanted to shoot, but all of them were rejected, and
I returned to Kiev. And every time visiting Armenia and Artsakh, the
journalists are always asking the same question whether I do not want
to shoot an Armenian film. When I was already recognized, the Armenian
studio was constantly suggesting me, but I was now rejecting," tells
the film director. And in the end of the film devoted to him, he
speaks about the clash between the Armenian art and reality. "Why
don't Armenians and Jews take "aspirin"?, he asks, because they do not
want the pain to go away, and more seriously, I want the Armenian
children's eyes be bright, bold, even impertinent; I want the traces
of Genocide be disappeared from the eyes of our children. For example,
when living in Armenia, I have seen how the Armenians are joking from
morning till evening, telling jokes, whereas there is always grief and
pathos in the art."
Siranush HAYRAPETYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2014/05/27/165434/