Tbilisi Film Festival showcases best of local, foreign filmmaking

More than 100 acclaimed films by Georgian and international directors will screen at this year's Tbilisi International Film Festival.

Kicking off next week, the annual film festival is being held in Georgia's capital for the 17th time.

The November 28-December 4 event will highlight local and foreign filmmakers by screening more than 100 films created by filmmakers in 50 countries.

One focus of this year's event will be the International Competition program where two of the film festival's main prizes will reveal the best foreign productions.

See the official trailer for British director Ken Loach's 2016 work 'I, Daniel Blake' below:

The festival will launch next Monday with a screening of German director Margarethe von Trotta's film Rosa Luxemburg (1986) in line with this year's festival focus on politics.

In an effort to explore prize-winning international films, the festival will shine a spotlight on works like Serbian director Mirjana Karanovic's film A Good Wife, Hungary-born filmmaker Maysaloun Hamoud's film In Between and the 2015 work The New World by Polish creators Elzbieta Benkowska, Michal Wawrzecki and Lukasz Ostalski.

This year particular attention will also be paid to films by Polish directors to highlight this year's 'Country in Focus' of the Tbilisi festival.

In addition to Eastern European productions, the seven-day film event will screen the new feature I, Daniel Blake by British filmmaker Ken Loach, as the film continues to make headlines around the world since its release last month.

See the trailer for Georgian filmmaker Mariam Chachia's feature film 'Listen to the Silence' below:

Organisers of the festival said at a press conference on Thursday that directors of all films included in the International Competition section will be travelling to Tbilisi to attend the event.

As well as celebrating international filmmakers, the film occasion will also honour local filmmakers with a special program of events involving 20 films by Georgian directors and a number of film premieres.

This local program includes award-winning productions The Dazzling Light of Sunset by Salome Jashi, Listen to the Silence by Mariam Chachia, House of Others by Rusudan Glurjidze and more.

Unlike previous years the 2016 edition of the Tbilisi International Film Festival will include an Extensive Industry section involving  workshops, master classes, panel discussions and other events that bring together cinema professionals and enthusiasts, said organisers.

See the full program of the 2016 Tbilisi International Film Festival here.