The world fame showered at Sergey Paradzhanov after screening in 1964 the film ‘Tini zabutykh predkiv’ (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors), the adaptation of renowned Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky's novel. This romantic ode to unique Hutsul highlanders’ culture has won awards at international film festivals in Italy, Argentina, and Greece.
Ethnic Armenian, the master mysteriously managed to penetrate into the depth of Ukrainian soul, and by portraying the love story developed the genre of Ukrainian poetic cinema. With excellent camera work by Yuri Illienko and actor’s play by Ivan Mykolaichuk the film was considered truly revolutionary with introduction of new cinematographic techniques often copied by other filmmakers afterwards. According to international critics, however, no one could surpass Paradzhanov in this genre.
When Soviet officials saw the film, they understood it broke the principles of social rubbish that ruled cinematography at that time. But they could do nothing because it was too late: two days later it was Kotsiubynsky’s centenary and the film had been announced already. So they let Paradzhanov show his film. “The film was not only shot in the Ukrainian language, but it was also in the Hutsul dialect. They asked me to dub the film in Russian. But I turned then down categorically” - reminisced Paradzhanov after the release of the film. The authorities could ban it later on “nationalistic” grounds and somehow be finished with the whole affair. But when the intelligentsia throughout the country saw it, they were moved. The film caused a chain reaction of unrest protesting the arrests of Ukrainian poets and intellectuals.