In 1985, the slow thaw within the Soviet Union spurred Parajanov to resume his passion for cinema. With the encouragement of various Georgian intellectuals, he created the multi-award-winning film "The Legend of Suram Fortress", based on a novella by Daniel Chonkadze, his first return to cinema since "Sayat Nova" fifteen years earlier. In 1988, Parajanov made another multi-award-winning film, "Ashik Kerib", based on a story by Mikhail Lermontov. It is the story of a wandering minstrel, set in the Azerbaijani culture. Parajanov dedicated the film to his close friend Andrei Tarkovsky and "to all the children of the world".