Patrick Cazals

Documentary about the life of Sergei Parajanov, a prominent Soviet-era filmmaker who was active in Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia and was persecuted by the communist government for his views on the pretext of his homosexuality, which was a crime in the USSR. The centerpiece of this documentary is Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, a 1965 movie directed by Parajanov, that awakened the Ukrainian national consciousness which had been suppressed by decades of Soviet rule.

Patrick Cazals’ film, La Dixième Muse, brings Musidora to life for the second time. The first occasion was the publication of his earlier book on the same subject with Henri Veyrier in 1978. The latter remains an essential work of reference because its author was the first person since Francis Lacassin to have surveyed Musidora’s career as a pioneering filmmaker and total artist. It includes previously undiscovered documents that are no longer accessible in their original form. This film too contains many previously unknown images found and selected by Patrick Cazals. Above all, it offers the animated image of a beauty in a close-fitting black suit, and her voice that speaks directly to us, alongside the voices of all those the director has brought together to establish a subtle bond with Musidora and bring her into our own age.

This extraordinary documentary illuminates the genius behind some of the most exquisite images ever set to celluloid by filmmaker Mikhaïl Kalatozov. An insightful account of a reserved man who paradoxically created rapturous, expressive cinema. Colleagues and historians, including Claudia Cardinale, describe the complicated way that Kalatozov made such radical works within the restrictions of film-making in the Soviet state.

This extraordinary documentary illuminates the genius behind some of the most exquisite images ever set to celluloid by filmmaker Mikhaïl Kalatozov. An insightful account of a reserved man who paradoxically created rapturous, expressive cinema. Colleagues and historians, including Claudia Cardinale, describe the complicated way that Kalatozov made such radical works within the restrictions of film-making in the Soviet state.

Cazal’s documentary presents Mamoulian’s life and work based on the reflections of leading figures in American and French cinema.

This documentary is not a straightforward portrait of Armenian film director Sergei Paradjanov's life, but rather a fluid celebration of his talent and creativity. Focusing on the collages he produced during his years in prison, and featuring interviews with the director himself, Cazals' film demonstrates the scope of Paradjanov's artistic vision, lovingly commemorating this rebel of art cinema.