Doclisboa festival hosting major Georgian cinema retrospective, highlighting country in industry section
A still from acclaimed film director Sergei Parajanov's 1985 'Arabesques on the Pirosmani Theme'. Photo via Doclisboa.
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A major selection of Georgian cinema, from 1920s early Soviet classics to releases over the last decade, will be a theme at the Doclisboa film festival starting this Friday, with Georgia also showcased as Invited Country of the event's industry section.
Working with the Georgian National Film Centre, festival organisers have selected over 40 feature-length and short films for their programme titled Permanent Travel – Georgia’s Restless Cinema Retrospective.
Ranging from 1920s silent films and early Soviet-era classics like Mikhail Kalatozov's 1930 Salt for Svanetia and Buba by the country's first female filmmaker Nutsa Gogoberidze from the same year. The selection goes all the way back to the Imperial Russian era, for the 1916 Christine by Aleksandre Tsutsunava.
Later Soviet works like Eldar Shengelaia's 1968 An Unusual Exhibition and Mikheil Kobakhidze's 1966 Umbrella have also been curated by the GNFC for the presentation of the country's scene, alongside films from the three decades of Georgia's modern independence.
This year's retrospective is dedicated to Georgian cinema, mapping its production from the 1920s to the present! It's a long overdue incentive to Portugal’s recognition of this reflective, challenging and unique cinema.https://t.co/wz0mlRmYMm pic.twitter.com/4cQgkOS5Gl
— Doclisboa Festival (@doclisboa) June 19, 2020
This retrospective presents several films that were restored in the scope of the agreement established between Georgia and Russia to return the former’s cinematic heritage to Tbilisi."
[...] At the same time, the return journey underlines the travelling propensity of a cinema that is reflective in its nature, and whose discovery we hope may lead us to a more aware and deep relation with its history and present situation. Both restless." - Marcelo Félix, curator of the retrospective
In the latter range, Rusudan Glurjidze's award-winning House of Others from 2016 and the 2015 documentary When the Earth Seems to Be Light by the three directors Salome Machaidze, Tamuna Karumidze and David Meskhi, which earned ---, will be seen by those tuning in to the festival.
Animated works like Mamuka Tkeshelashvili's 2018 Fisherman and the Girl will be part of a mini-section designed for family viewing and including other animated works, released between 1955 and 2017.
Over in Nebulae, the industry section of the Portuguese festival, Georgia will again be squarely in the focus with the Invited Country status. Within the highlight, film professionals from the country will present their work-in-progress projects and host a roundtable talk on the country's film scene.
While eight in-development projects are being pitched to cinema professionals from around the world, panel discussions involving Georgian cinematographers will also be held as part of the festival calendar.