SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS (1965)
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Randwick Ritz, Sydney:
08:45 PM
Saturday May 03
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
09:10 PM
Saturday May 10
Rating: M
Duration: 97 minutes
Country: Ukraine
Language: Ukrainian with English subtitles
Cast: Ivan Mykolajčuk, Larysa Kadočnikova
Director: Sergei Parajanov
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
08:45 PM
Saturday May 03
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
09:10 PM
Saturday May 10
Rating: M
Duration: 97 minutes
Country: Ukraine
Language: Ukrainian with English subtitles
Cast: Ivan Mykolajčuk, Larysa Kadočnikova
Director: Sergei Parajanov
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
4K RESTORATION – AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
“In the temple of cinema, there are images, light, and reality. Sergei Parajanov is the master of that temple.” – Jean-Luc Godard.
“Sergei Parajanov’s extraordinary merging of myth, history, poetry, ethnography, dance and ritual remains one of the supreme works of the Soviet sound cinema, and even subsequent Parajanov features have failed to dim its intoxicating splendours.” – Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
A masterpiece of Ukrainian cinema that bursts with life and colour, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) is a subtly subversive ode to folk culture characteristic of its visionary director, Sergei Parajanov.
Set in the Carpathian Mountains, amongst the Hutsul ethnic group and in their dialect, this outwardly simple tale of star-crossed lovers Ivan and Marichka belies a resistance to Soviet hegemony in both its style and in its efforts to lovingly preserve the distinctive cultural heritage of this region.
Shadows’ resplendent fusion of folk tradition and boldly expressive avant-garde formalism represents a radical departure from Socialist Realism and a vital precursor to this great director’s later oeuvre.
Introduced by Nicky Hannan at Ritz Cinemas and by Amiel Courtin-Wilson at Lido Cinemas
“In the temple of cinema, there are images, light, and reality. Sergei Parajanov is the master of that temple.” – Jean-Luc Godard.
“Sergei Parajanov’s extraordinary merging of myth, history, poetry, ethnography, dance and ritual remains one of the supreme works of the Soviet sound cinema, and even subsequent Parajanov features have failed to dim its intoxicating splendours.” – Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
A masterpiece of Ukrainian cinema that bursts with life and colour, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) is a subtly subversive ode to folk culture characteristic of its visionary director, Sergei Parajanov.
Set in the Carpathian Mountains, amongst the Hutsul ethnic group and in their dialect, this outwardly simple tale of star-crossed lovers Ivan and Marichka belies a resistance to Soviet hegemony in both its style and in its efforts to lovingly preserve the distinctive cultural heritage of this region.
Shadows’ resplendent fusion of folk tradition and boldly expressive avant-garde formalism represents a radical departure from Socialist Realism and a vital precursor to this great director’s later oeuvre.
Introduced by Nicky Hannan at Ritz Cinemas and by Amiel Courtin-Wilson at Lido Cinemas
THE RESTORATION
Source: DCP Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna
Restored in 4K by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre and in association with the Dovzhenko Film Studio. Special thanks to Daniel Bird and Łukasz Ceranka. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
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Director: Sergei Parajanov; Production Company: Dovzhenko Film Studios; Producer: N.Yureva; Script: Ivan Chendej and Sergei Parajanov, from the novel by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky; Photography: Yuri Ilyenko and Viktor Bestayev; Editor: Marfa Ponomarenko; Production Design: Mikhail Rakovskiy and Georgiy Yakutovich; Music: Miroslav Skorik
Cast: Ivan Mykolajčuk (Ivan), Ihor Dzjura (Young Ivan), Larysa Kadočnikova (Marička), Valentyna Hlynko ( Young Marička), Tat’jana Bestaeva (Palahna), Spartak Bagašvili (Jura the sorcerer), Mykola Hryn’ko (Batag the priest), Leonid Engibarov (Miko)
USSR | 1965 | 97 Mins | 4K DCP | Colour | Ukrainian with English subtitles | UC 15+
Restored in 4K by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre and in association with the Dovzhenko Film Studio. Special thanks to Daniel Bird and Łukasz Ceranka. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

Director: Sergei Parajanov; Production Company: Dovzhenko Film Studios; Producer: N.Yureva; Script: Ivan Chendej and Sergei Parajanov, from the novel by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky; Photography: Yuri Ilyenko and Viktor Bestayev; Editor: Marfa Ponomarenko; Production Design: Mikhail Rakovskiy and Georgiy Yakutovich; Music: Miroslav Skorik
Cast: Ivan Mykolajčuk (Ivan), Ihor Dzjura (Young Ivan), Larysa Kadočnikova (Marička), Valentyna Hlynko ( Young Marička), Tat’jana Bestaeva (Palahna), Spartak Bagašvili (Jura the sorcerer), Mykola Hryn’ko (Batag the priest), Leonid Engibarov (Miko)
USSR | 1965 | 97 Mins | 4K DCP | Colour | Ukrainian with English subtitles | UC 15+