Roman Balajan
Biography of Roman Balajan
Date of Birth: 15.04.1941
Place of Birth. Education. Roman Balajan was born in the village of Nerkyn Oratag in the Martakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Azerbaijani SSR. From 1961 to 1964, he studied at the directing department of the Yerevan Theater Institute, and in 1969 he graduated from the directing department of the Kyiv State Institute of Theater Arts named after I. Karpenko-Karyy.
Career. From 1959 to 1961, Balajan worked as an actor in the theater in Stepanakert (Nagorno-Karabakh).
Roman Balajan considers himself a disciple of Sergei Parajanov. He made his directorial debut in 1973 with the film 'Romanovsky's Effect'. His second feature film 'Biriuk' was nominated in 1977 for the 'Golden Bear' at the Berlinale. His film 'Flights Before Sleep and Awake' from 1987 became one of the biggest box office hits of Soviet cinema. Made in 1982 and released during perestroika, it showcased the tragedy of a generation living under the deeply absurd realities of the late socialism regime.
In 1986, Balajan's feature film 'Protect Me, My Talisman', set in Boldino, illustrated the situations of Pushkin and Dante in modern times. The film featured well-known actors: Oleg Yankovsky, Tatyana Drubich, Alexander Abdullov, Alexander Zbruev, Mikhail Kozakov, Bulat Okudzhava. This film won the 'Golden Tulip' at the International Film Festival in Istanbul.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Balajan made several films that brought him great success among audiences. His feature drama 'Two Months, Three Suns' was nominated in 1998 for the Karlovy Vary Film Festival for the 'Crystal Globe'.
The main type of hero in Balajan's films is a loner, whose soul is torn by contradictions, unable to find his place in the world. He has made few films, but they always garner audience interest and receive high critical acclaim: 'Flights Before Sleep and Awake', 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District' (1989), 'Two Moons, Three Suns' (1998), 'Paradise Birds' (2008). In many of his films, the director also participated as a screenwriter.
He collaborated with well-known actors such as Oleg Yankovsky, Alexander Abdullov, Oleg Menshikov, Oleg Tabakov, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Nikita Mikhalkov, and Liev Durov. He considered his main directorial task to be the necessity to 'destroy all previous achievements and actor templates and convince him of his premise, his strength, and skills'.
He produced television versions of performances at the 'Sovremennik' theater (Moscow): 'Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' (1992), 'Anfisa' (1993), and others.
His permanent place of residence and work is Ukraine.
Full Member of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, member of the Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine.
Since 1996, Roman Balajan has been the director of Telekinofirma 'Iluzion-Films' (produced films 'Two Moons, Three Suns', 'Theater of the Convicted').
On July 8, 2021, the first film in the Ukrainian language by director Roman Balajan was released, featuring Akhtem Seitablayev in the lead role. The artistic black-and-white film 'We Are. We Are Beside' tells a dramatic story of loss and love.
Civic Position. During the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine in March 2014, he signed a letter with other Ukrainian cultural activists to Russian colleagues, in which the myths of Kremlin propaganda about Euromaidan and 'persecution of Russian-speaking people' were debunked.
In 2018, he supported Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, who was illegally imprisoned in Russia.
Awards. Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1987). People's Artist of Ukraine (1997).
Awards. In 2001, awarded the Order of 'For Merit' III degree. In 2008, awarded the Order of 'For Merit' II degree. In 2016, awarded the Order of 'For Merit' I degree.
15.04.2022.