Dozens of Georgian films in focus at Tallinn film festival

Films made in Georgia will be at the centre of one of Europe’s most prestigious international film festivals opening tomorrow in Estonia’s capital Tallinn.

A vast program of old and new Georgian cinema will be presented to visitors of the 2015 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, with Georgia set to enjoy the special Focus Country status it was granted last year.

The Festival will officially open with a screening of Georgian director Kote Mikaberidze’s silent film My Grandmother – one of the 13 films in the Focus Country section. The film was praised by event organisers for its creative technical approach:

For invention, it matches any film of the French avant-garde, taking in all kinds of advanced filmic devices such as stop-motion, bits of puppetry and animation, as well as expressionist decor and camera angles,” said the Festival in its preview for the film.

The Focus Country category will also feature films from director Tengiz Abuladze’s 1977 Soviet classic The Wishing Tree to recent Georgian production Brides by Tinatin Kajrishvili.

Works from other active directors including Zaza Urushadze, Giorgi Ovashvili and Tina Gurchiani will also be screened within the Focus Country program to illustrate the recent revival of Georgian cinema.

The Festival’s main competition section will also include a Georgian piece – The Summer of Frozen Fountains by Vano Burduli.

See the trailer for The Summer of Frozen Fountains by director Vano Burduli below:

Georgia was granted the status of 2015 Focus Country at last year’sfestival. This honour gave Georgia the chance to highlight its filmmaking legacy and talent to the thousands of guests expected to attend this year’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Last year the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival was granted the status of Competitive Feature Film Festival by the Federation of Film Producers Associations.

Established in 1997, the Black Nights Film Festival has grown over the years, where last year it included more than 600 films and visitors from 50 countries. The event was now regarded among the 50 leading film festivals of the world.

Festival organisers said the event aimed to "present Estonian audiences a comprehensive selection of world cinema in all its diversity”.

See the full list of sections and films of the 2015 Black Nights Festival here.