Georgian directors showcase award-winning films at Spanish fest

Two films by Georgian directors will be shown at a Spanish festival, dubbed a "not to be missed event" that’s opening in the picturesque seaside city Valencia today.

More than 300 films from Europe, South America and beyond are taking part in the 31st Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove from June 17-24.

The week-long film festival will see feature-length films and short clips screen at 10 cinema venues in the Balearic Sea city, and include two works by established and upcoming Georgian creators.

On June 21 the Rialto Cinema Theatre will screen the 2013 film In Bloom by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross.

A scene from the 2013 film 'In Bloom' by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross. Photo from meltingcelluloid.blogspot.com.

The Georgian-French-German co-production has won 29 prizes and was Georgia's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2014 Academy Awards.

The film’s plot follows two young girls coming of age in the troubled years of the early 1990s in Tbilisi and sheds light on the background of turbulent family lives.

The Spanish festival's Rialto Cinema will also screen the second feature work by a Georgian filmmaker.

On June 22 and 23, director Nino Basilia's new film Anna's Life will be shown. After the screening, guests will be able to meet Basilia and Spanish author Miguel Angel Jordan.

See the trailer for director Nino Basilia's 2016 film 'Anna's Life' below:

The film revolves around Anna, a single mother in her daily struggle of working four jobs to support her autistic son, who lives in a children's house.

Basilia's work premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival in Sweden earlier this year, before claiming its first international award at the Construir Cine International Film Festival in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires in May.

The Valencia International Film Festival will comprise of two official sections, while 13 smaller categories will also offer special showings of web series and an audio-visual program for youth.

Established three decades ago, the Cinema Jove festival has become "one of the top Spanish specialised festivals", said its organisers.

The annual occasion has provided a "key international forum for youthful audiences and young filmmakers alike".

Four films by Georgian directors have screened at the Valencia film festival over the last five years, including Line of Credit by Salome Alexi and Tangerines by Zaza Urushadze.

The full festival program can be found here.