To Two Legendary Directors, Sergei Parajanov and Kirill Serebrennikov

The confidence that I have in recommending LEGEND is due to two directors.

One is Sergei Parajanov, the legend indicated in the title of this play. His films The Color of Pomegranates (1969) and The Lovelorn Minstrel (1988) are “the holy grail” for film buffs like me. Their charm is not diminished by their non-linear narrative, while their beautiful imagery and poetic symbolism are wrapped up in a layer of magic. His creative output was extremely limited, largely due to the Soviet film policies of his time. In addition to being repeatedly censored and banned, he was charged with indecency and imprisoned. Even after his release, he struggled to make films. This legendary director, whose life was filled with hardship, passed away in 1990. His works are frequently revisited and have even influenced the music video for Lady Gaga’s “911.” And then, there is the play that we are discussing. 

LEGEND is comprised of 10 chapters on Parajanov but cannot be said to be biographical or a traditional theater performance. This work features a domineering government, spirits of the dead that are unwilling to forget, vendors of intangible goods, legendary diva, sacrificial youth, legends, reality, dreamscapes, and painful memories of imprisonment. Each chapter can stand alone, yet all the chapters resonate with one another. 

Kirill Serebrennikov, the creator of this play, is a renowned figure in cinema circles. In the recent decade, he has been a darling of the Cannes Film Festival. In The Student (2016), the actions of religious extremists highlight the reality of “interpretation leading to conflict.”  In Leto (2018), a gifted singer from the 80s rebels against the conservatism of that era. Moreover, Petrov’s Flu (2021) boldly explores the shared memories of Russians. On the surface, Tchaikovsky's Wife (2022) deconstructs the mask of a music legend but on a deeper level aims to subvert the Russian government’s cultural narrative strategy. In his 2024 film Limonov: The Ballad, Ben Whishaw is cast as a defiant, controversial, and influential figure. Serebrennikov once served as artistic director of the Gogol Center. Under his leadership, it became a world-renowned avant-garde theater. 
 

Just as Parajanov weathered political storms, Serebrennikov’s criticisms of the government and support for the LGBT community led to trouble but not to changes in his creative mindset. The Russian authorities resorted to unconvincing allegations of misappropriation of a state subsidy. This seemed to be just an excuse to shut down a space that encouraged freedom of expression.

LEGEND was created by Serebrennikov after leaving Russia to live in self-exile in Germany. After watching the four-hour performance video, I dare not say that I understood much but I was frequently moved by scenes that were both familiar (due to Parajanov’s cinematic influence) and strange (due to a foreign language). This work reveals a resonance between these two artists who were unwilling to remain silent and provides clear evidence that creation can transcend time, space, and the boundaries between reality and fiction.