Cinematographer Giorgi Shvelidze to be absent from Moscow’s Golden Arch Film Award

Award-winning cinematographer Giorgi Shvelidze will not travel to Moscow for the ceremony of this year’s International Film Award "East-West. Golden Arch", the cinema professional revealed this week.

Shvelidze, the winner of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Spotlight Award for his work on the 2017 feature Namme by Zaza Khalvashi, was nominated for the Russian prize for the same film.

He was announced in the shortlist of the Best Cinematography Award by organisers of the Golden Arch event, with the list also featuring recognised international cinema names like Sergey Loznitsa (Donbass) and Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War).

However, Shvelidze revealed he would not be travelling to the Russian capital for the ceremony scheduled on April 14 at Moscow’s Et Cetera venue, the Georgian Public Broadcaster reported.

Shvelidze was awarded the ASC Spotlight Award in February after becoming the first Georgian film professional to be nominated for the prize:

The decision comes in the wake of a similar move by jazz pianist Beka Gochiashvili, who last week said he would skip the Russian leg of the spring tour of the Stanley Clarke Band.

Georgian artists have faced the question on whether to honour events held in Russia for over a decade, as troops of the country have occupied the Georgian regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia since the 2008 war between the two states.

The Golden Arch awards select the best films produced by cinema professionals from countries of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Shvelidze would have represented Georgia at the April 14 ceremony among nominees from 32 countries.

Founded by the Confederation of the Filmmakers Unions of Russia, the awards are supported by Russian state agencies as well as international institutions.