Sergei Parajanov - Kiev Frescos (1966)

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A lyrical portrait of life in a contemporary Armenian village following the devastation of an earthquake and the fall of communism.

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Kievski Freski Dir Sergei Paradjanov (Kiev Frescos) 1966. 35mm. 13 mins
Paradjanov assembled this "film collage" from the rushes and tests that remained unscathed after the Soviet authorities halted the production of Kiev Frescos and ordered the negative to be destroyed.

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When the Soviet authorities were imposing on a multi-national country the artificial conception of a "homogeneous Soviet people", Paradjanov was defending those nations' very diversity and uniqueness. Through films and documentaries (both by Paradjanov and others), this programme attempts to trace Paradjanov's creative journeys through Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia.

Soon after the Soviet authorities stopped the shooting of Kiev Frescos (Kievski Freski) in 1966, Sergei Paradjanov left Dovchenko film studios in Kiev for Armenfilm in Yerevan. There he started work on a feature length homage to Sayat Nova, the pseudonym of the Haroutine Sayadian (Tblissi, 1712 - 1795), an Armenian poet and bard, who wrote in Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijani.

Sergei Parajanov - Pervyy paren aka The First Lad (1959)

A gem from Paradjanov's early oeuvre is a musical agitation film or a romantic comedy, made by the young director under the guidance of Alexander Dovzhenko and set in the immense fields of the collectivised Ukraine. The social realism is replaced by colourful, convivial and dancing shots of the “Pabieda” (Victory) kolkhoz, where peasant women sing in the fields, and boys march with banners glorifying revolution. Against this backdrop, intense romantic feelings have reached a climactic stage; tailor Sidor Sidorovich, farmer Jushka and soldier Danila Petrovich all dote on the fair-haired Odarka. It is Jushka and Danila who engage in overt hostility; the initial “gentlemen’s” contest turns into an outright confrontation, resulting in miserable Jushka being increasingly more desperate and scorned by the villagers.

Sergei Parajanov - Ashugi Qaribi aka The Hoary Legends of the Caucasus (1988)

Based on a story by Russian author Mikhail Lermontov, Ashik Kerib has the texture of an ancient, oft-told tale. Yuri Mgoyan stars as a wandering troubadour, working the provinces. He spends 1000 days and nights on the road, entertaining whenever and wherever he can. Mgoyan's itinerant lifestyle seemingly has little purpose, but it does. At the end of those 1000 days and nights, he hopes to have accumulated enough money to afford a wedding...if his bride is willing to wait.

Dziga Vertov - Tri pesni o Lenine AKA Three songs about Lenin (1934)

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The legendary Dziga Vertov's most personal and deeply felt film, as well as the touchstone of his brilliant career. Three Songs of Lenin reveals the Russian leader as seen through the eyes of the Russian people represented in three songs. The first, "In a Black Prison Was My Face," concerns the life of a young Muslim woman. "We Loved Him" deals with the life and death of Lenin himself. The third song, "In the Great City of Stone" shows the accomplishments of his glorious rule.

Ivan Pyryev - Skazanie o zemle sibirskoy AKA The Tale of Siberian Land (1947)

From Mosfilm:
Andrey Balashov, a pianist, had to quit music after being wounded during the Great Patriotic War. Having failed to say goodbye to his friends and Natasha whom he loved he left for Siberia. He worked at the construction of an industrial complex and sang in a teahouse. An accidental meeting with his friends and Natasha changed his life. Andrey left for the Arctic region where being inspired by heroic labor of the builders he wrote a symphonic oratorio «Tale of Siberian Land» that won everybody’s recognition and made him popular in Moscow where Natasha was looking forward to see her true-love.

Mikhail Kalatozov - Valeriy Chkalov (1941)

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The film is about the fate of the famous Soviet aviator Chkalov, who in mid 30’es made with his crew the first nonstop flight from Moscow to the Far East, covering over 9000 kilometers and later made the first nonstop transatlantic flight from Moscow to the USA across the North Pole.
Source : www.lenfilm.ru

Vsevolod Pudovkin - Shakhmatnaya goryachka aka Chess Fever (1925)

PLOT SUMMARY
Chess Fever is a comedy about a man who, though soon to be married, already has a mistress – chess. His bride-to-be, knowing nothing of the game but seeing that his heart resides on the sixty-four squares of the chessboard, freaks out and storms onto the snow-covered streets in hysteria.

Aleksandr Sokurov - Samye Zemnye Zaboty aka Le Piú Terrene Occupazione (1974)

A documentary film about the agricultural development in the region of Gorky: the everyday life in a sovkhoz, the building of a reservoir and of a greenhouse.