See trailer for new film on Georgia’s first president (VIDEO)
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The first trailer for award-winning director George Ovashvili’s latest film, Khibula, is now online, with the video previewing the story of the last days of Georgia’s first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
Expected to debut at a major international festival later this year, the filming of the feature was completed in 2016.
The trailer was revealed to cinema enthusiasts on social media on Monday.
See the trailer for George Ovashvili’s new film ‘Khibula’ below:
The two-minute video shows fragments from the film following Gamsakhurdia (1939-1993) in his final days after he was forced to flee a military coup in Georgia in 1991.
The principal role in the feature is played by Iranian actor Hossein Mahjoub, with a cast of Georgian actors in supporting roles.
Written by Roelof Jan Minneboo and Ovashvili, the film shows Gamsakhurdia in his precarious situation after his ousting as president when the country was caught up in ethnic and civil turmoil in the early 1990s.
Fleeing his political foes in power, the principal character of the film is also increasingly unsure of how much he can trust his entourage and guards as he attempts to reach a village where he has been promised sanctuary.
The plot of ‘Khibula’ follows Gamsakhurdia in the uncertainty of his circumstances and the people surrounding the ousted president in his last days. Screenshot from the trailer.
The true story of Gamsakhurdia’s escape from the 1991 coup and return to Georgia ended in the mysterious case of his death on December 31, 1993 in the village of Khibula in western Georgia’s Samegrelo region.
The case of his death was the subject of a government investigation in 2004 but has not been resolved. Versions of suicide and murder have become a subject of controversy in Georgia since the incident.
Hossein Mahjoub is best known for his roles in The Colour of Paradise (1999) and Baran (2001).
George Ovashvili has received the top prize of the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for his 2014 feature, Corn Island. The Georgian director is also known for his 2009 drama, The Other Bank, which was awarded prizes at over a dozen film festivals in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Khibula is co-produced by Georgia’s Alamdary Films studio with 42film (Germany), Arizona Productions (France) and the French-German collaboration of ZDF and ARTE public broadcasters.
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