This project is a collection of resources that offers an opportunity to look at Color of Pomegranate (1968) by Sergei Paradjanov, a film about a legenday Armenian Poet in 18th century as a semi-autobiography. Through the research, one can find a significant amount of parallel in between the lives of the subject matter, Sayat Nova and the director Paradjanov as both share undeniably similar ethnic and cultural background as well as the fact that both were creative minds put in exile by authoritative factor, either his religion or oppressive government. It also investigates the political and historical background of this film to suggest Paradjanovs nationalistic aspiration omnipresent throughout not only in this particular film but also in others he created.

Rosenbaum, Jonathan. Cineaste, Summer2002, Vol. 27 Issue 3, p43, 3p, 4bw

This article profiles the late film by director Sergei Paradjanov. Also include personal background and persecutions he experienced under the Soviet era.
It shows the cultural diversity within the self-consciously ethnographic works of Sergei Paradjanov who himself was born into an Armenian family in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia; which is a cultural and religious melting pot and has grown up with mixture of Balkan culture and Soviet influence. He spoke three languages: Georgian, Armenian, and Azeri, no two of which belong to the same linguistic family. Directly reflecting the background, he has made films in various languages: Ukraine (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors), Armenia (Sayat Nova), and Georgia (many shorts, and eventually The Legend of Suram Fortress). The auther makes an intersting point here by asserting that “one useful route into the film is Paradjanov's own identification with the legendary poet. Saya Nova, legendary Armenian poet/ musician who, like Paradjanov, born into poor Armenian family with string Christian background, and wrote and sang in different languages, and was banned from practicing his art in Georgia near the end of his life. The opening quotation from Sayat Nova can even be read as the director's disclaimer: "My water is of a very special kind,/Not everyone can drink it./My writing is of a very special kind,/Not everyone can read it./My foundation's made not of sand,/But of solid granite."

In this book, the author Josephine Woll makes a comprehensive overview of soviet cinema during the Thaw period, 1957 to 1967, which the author divides into five parts and each part is respectively discussed and given an extensive analysis. The “Thaw” period was crucial though scarcely studied compared to the films preceded them such as Eisenstein and Vertov. Her exhaustive range of films from this period opens our eye to the relatively unknown yet crucial filmmakers and their works such as Marlen Khutsiev and his Zastava Il’icha. Woll’s study of this era fills in the gap not only in the history of the cinema, but also the history of Soviet culture, in which cinema played an indispensable role. This book shows the change brought to the cinema, as well as to society and people as a result of shifts in the government and its policy in the post-Stalin era. She argues that Khrushchev era was a time of Romanticism; “ socialism with a human face”.
Throughout this book, she makes the best case for the importance of the cinematography in the films in this era. The rise of the “poetic school” such as Tarkovsky, Paradjanov, and Muratova, which she discusses in full extend to gives the analysis they deserve. She praises Tarkovsky and Paradjanov for their simplicity and straightforwardness, and ability to reach out for wider audiences. Both directors received international appreciation, unlike any other contemporaries and were given great credit for their achievement only to find themselves in a few years later both in exile either internal or external, during which they were prohibited from making a film.

This book is a product of an exceptionally patient study of Caucasus region mainly Armenia and Azerbaijan and their neighboring countries, such as Russia. It gives deep and compelling account for Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict (1988-1994) which still persist and the suffering of the people from the convoluted aftermath and exacerbation. This book gives you an idea of how complex and intertwined the problem has become through the process of independence at the End of Soviet era that still awaits resolution.

 In this book the author De Waal refers to legendary Armenian Poet Sayat Nova as benign patron for this book for his generous sympathy for other culture and religions, and ethnicity. His poetry as well as Sayat Nova as a historical figure appears in this book many times as symbol of peace and understanding. Sayat Nova, born into a moderate Armenia family in Georgia, served as court troubadour in Georgia, wrote songs in Azeri, Armenian, Georgian, and Persian, was praised for the very diversity of his talent. He is truly the reflection of the sprit of the region today. And same could be said for the director for the film “Syat Nova (Color of Pomegranate) 1968”, Sergei Paradjanov who shares almost the same ethnic and cultural background.