Occasioned by new documentaries that have received acclaim at recent film festivals, we present a short series of films from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora. This culture that is so rich in music, poetry, love of language, and an extraordinary visual tradition is also the vessel for painful memories that must not be suppressed, and for harsh realities in a region still plagued by ethnic strife. With the documentaries we bring back the magic (sur)realism of Sergei Paradjanov, who was one of the world's consummate film artists, despite long periods of imprisonment in the former Soviet Union; and Arthur Peleshian, whose poetic documentaries remain little known in the U.S.
