Filmfestival Cottbus to bring classic, new Georgian cinema to audience
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A dozen films by Georgian directors, from Soviet-era classics to most recent award-winning works, will be shown at Germany’s Filmfestival Cottbus, where Georgia will be the country in focus next month.
In Spotlight: Georgia, the selection of cinema from the country will present films by filmmakers of various generations, both men and women.
The Spotlight programme will be spread over several days of the festival, which opens its screenings on November 6.
Spearheading the Georgian selection, Moira by Levan Tutberidze will be on the big screen on the third day of the event.
The 2015 feature centres around a man who, having been recently released from prison, attempts to rescue his family from poverty by buying a small fishing boat, pinning his hopes that it will bring him a better fortune.
Two more works of the contemporary era will be introduced to the audience the next day, with Gigisha Abashidze’s 2017 work Neighbours and Namme by Zaza Khalvashi in the section.
The bulk of the Georgian cinema focus will come to the eastern German city on November 10, when nine productions will be screened.
These will include young director Ana Urushadze’s internationally acclaimed debut feature Scary Mother, with its tension-filled screenplay following Georgian housewife in her literary exploration.
Nana Ekvtimishvili’s short ‘Mother’ will be part of the festival’s focus on Georgian cinema. Photo: Tbilisi International Film Festival.
A sub-section titled Georgian Masters will bring four films from Nana Ekvtimishvili, Giorgi Shengelaia, George Ovashvili and Gio Mgeladze to the festival.
Released between 1962-2011, the films are Alaverdoba by Shengelaia, Mother by Ekvtimishvili, Above Sea Level by Ovashvili and No, My Friend by Mgeladze.
Finally, four more works will follow in the sub-section Georgian Fresh Shorts, where festival-goers will learn about directors Mariam Khatchvani, Tornike Gogrichiani, Giga Khaindrava and Sandro Souladze from their works.
Along with the screenings introducing Georgian scene and creatives, filmmaker Giorgi Mgeladze will be on the international jury for the competition sections of the festival.
Filmfestival Cottbus will run in the German city between November 6-11.
The Montreal World Film Festival, launching in the Canadian city this week, will host the international debut of Neighbours, a drama by Gigisha Abashidze and the first-ever co-production between Georgia and Macedonia.
Georgian director Zaza Khalvashi will premiere his latest feature Namme to audiences attending next month’s Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), a major cinema event in Asia.
Georgia’s pick for the 2016 Academy Awards Foreign Language film has had its maiden screening at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, with the feature piece by Levan Tutberidze featuring in the Spanish event’s Official Section.
From pioneering 1929 film My Grandmother to Soviet classics and independence-era works, a retrospective of Georgian cinema is being screened at the ongoing Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany.
Girl, directed by Lukas Dhont, has been chosen among seven films at the Tbilisi International Film Festival to be awarded by the EU Human Rights in Film Award 2018.
From pioneering director Kote Mikaberidze's silent classic My Grandmother to contemporary works by award-winning filmmakers including Nana Ekvtimishvili and Otar Iosseliani, Georgian cinema will enjoy a special status at Spain's Valladolid International Film Festival opening this Saturday.