Georgian director’s latest film wins top prize at international festival

A Georgian film has triumphed at the Jasmine International Film Festival in Iran by winning the top prize of the Asian Competition section.

The Village by director Levan Tutberidze won the Golden Jasmine prize yesterday after beating nine other shortlisted films after a week of screening in the country’s northern city of Mazandaran.

The film was the first Georgian production to screen at a Middle Eastern cinema festival. It competed in the sector against works from Iran as well as Central, East and South Asia.

The screenings of the 10 shortlisted productions – selected from 38 films originally submitted to the section – ran through October 3-8 before festival organisers announced results of the contest.

Tutberidze’s film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival last spring. The film told the story of the experiences of a young British girl in a remote Georgian mountainous village where she travelled with her boyfriend to save their faltering relationship, only to witness a clash of cultures between her idealism and local customs.

The film features a Georgian supporting cast alongside the lead actors. Photo from www.thevillage.ge.

A review by entertainment website www.variety.com called the film "leisurely but always compelling”.

The 2014 production by GAMS Pictures Studio cast British actor Crystal Bennett and local actor Tornike Bziava in lead roles alongside a supporting cast of Georgian actors. The film was scheduled to hit Georgian cinemas in the next few weeks.

The film’s production was financed by the Georgian National Film Centre.

Tutberidze’s other recent film Moira won an international award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival last month after it was selected as Georgia’s entry for the 2016 Academy Awards Foreign Language section.

See the trailer for The Village below: