Film critics often cite Sergei Parajanov as one of the best filmmakers of all time. Throughout his life, the Soviet authorities cornered him because of his films, his personal life (he was bisexual), and his political commitment to Ukrainian nationalism.

Parajanov gained world fame with the 1964 feature film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. A year later, he embarked on what was to be an anti-war film, Kyiv Frescos, ostensibly filmed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War. Production of this feature-length film about the aftermath of World War II in contemporary Kyiv was discontinued by Russia’s Goskino. It now exists only a series of screen tests that Parajanov pieced together.

But even in its abbreviated form, Kyiv Frescos is impressive. Although it is tempting to see it as a rehearsal for The Colour of Pomegranates (1969), the style is subtly but meaningfully different. Parajanov’s own take on the history of the Ukrainian capital.