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The Seasons
Տարվա եղանակները
According to Sergei Parajanov, the Armenian director of The Colour of Pomegranates (1969), his compatriot Artavazd Peleshian was “one of the few authentic geniuses of world cinema”. In The Seasons, Pelechian captures a reclusive farming community in its incessant struggle with the elements of nature. We see the villagers raising sheep and cattle, rolling haystacks down a hill, braving rain and storms, and celebrating a wedding. Accompanied by Vivaldi's “The Four Seasons”, these highlanders deliver feats of pure survival.
The Seasons shows humanity trapped in a cruel but stunningly beautiful existence. Vast cloudscapes speedily glide across the Armenian highlands. To the melodious rhythm of camerawork, editing, and a lyrical score, Peleshian elevates this into a full-blown symphony of life.
Bio Artavazd Peleshian
Artavazd Peleshian is an Armenian director of essay films and documentaries. Creator of the “distange montage,” Peleshian removed the boundaries of feature and documentary films, editing both as a real poetic unity. Even his student works shot at VGIK, the oldest film school in Moscow, Russia, were awarded numerous prizes, and he gained recognition among filmmakers. Alongside his very successful solo career, which made him one of the key Soviet documentarians, Peleshian was invited to direct archive footage by such masters as Lev Kulidzhanov for Zvyozdnaya minuta (1972) and Andrey Konchalovskiy for Siberiada (1979). Peleshian is the author of a range of theoretical works, including his 1988 book Moyo kino (My Cinema).
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- This film was #16 in the “Greatest” Short Films of All Time 2025