Roman Balayan: "Birds of Paradise"

Opening film of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival 2008

Remember?

Early 80s in the Soviet Union... Listening to foreign broadcasting is prohibited; expressing one’s opinion is dangerous. One can openly speak only in the kitchen behind the closed curtain and find truth in the Samizdat materials (self-print) that is passed on secretly from friend to friend. KGB is phone tapping, watching over unreliable persons and planning annihilation of the dissidence. Young writer Sergey Goloborodko wrote the novel “Station Knol” that describing the reverse of “Real Socialism”. KGB agents are ready for everything: blackmails, arrests, assassinations for the sake of novel would not be published abroad, that truth about totalitarian order would not get over the iron curtain. The main friend of Sergey is pushed by KGB to betray him, the famous writer - Sergey's spiritual teacher is arrested and died in prison and the beloved woman is vanishing from his life... The characters are trying to fly away from these obstacles but it is not so easy to fly from oneself…

*source of film info and photo