National Film Center Commission members in legal dispute against “unfounded” dismissals
Following the dismissal of Gaga Chkheidze, the former Director of GNFC, by the Culture Ministry in March following allegations of "misuse of funds" and "potential cases of nepotism" - disputed by Chkheidze - the members of the Commission were notified by email about a postponement of the interview phase, and a month later were informed the Commission’s ranks would undergo a “complete renewal”, the ISFED said. Photo: ISFED
Tweet 
Share
A group of Expert Commission members of the Georgian National Film Center have launched a legal dispute against their dismissals and alleged the Culture Minister’s bias in their replacement on the positions in the midst of work to select winners of the body’s current competition for feature films.
The seven cinema professionals said they had not received explanations of the grounds for their replacement with newly appointed members of the Commission, calling the decision “unfounded and insulting”.
They will be represented by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy non-governmental organisation in the dispute, with the ISFED saying the termination of their contracts with the GNFC did not meet required standards.
The ISFED noted the dismissals had taken place in the middle of the process of the Commission members’ assessment of 15 projects submitted for the feature film competition, ahead of interviews included in the process and before the final phase of the Commission revealing its winners.
Following the dismissal of Gaga Chkheidze, the former Director of GNFC, by the Culture Ministry in March following allegations of "misuse of funds" and "potential cases of nepotism" - disputed by Chkheidze - the members of the Commission were notified by email about a postponement of the interview phase, and a month later were informed the Commission’s ranks would undergo a “complete renewal”, the ISFED said.
To date, the members of the Commission have not received any justification, or any kind of explanation, as to the reasons and grounds for their dismissal,” the NGO noted.
ISFED Executive Director Nino Dolidze placed both the dismissal of Chkheidze - who said he would sue the Ministry if not reinstated on the position - and the replacement of Commission members in the light of a “cleansing of cadres” from cultural institutions in Georgia following the appointment of Thea Tsulukiani as the Minister in the spring of 2021, a view shared by a part of culture field professionals in the country.
In the statement, Dolidze said under Tsulukiani the Ministry was launching “‘reorganisations’ involving sackings of people [employed by cultural institutions] deemed not loyal to her or her political views,” and called the alleged process “unacceptable”.
Gaga Chkheidze, the former Director of the Georgian National Film Centre who was relieved of his position by Culture Ministry on Monday, has responded to allegations by the latter and said he will sue the Ministry if not reinstated, in addition to outlining a range of grievances about the treatment of the GNFC by the current Culture Minister.
Georgia's Culture Ministry has relieved Gaga Chkheidze, the Director of the Georgian National Film Centre (GNFC), of his position for "misuse of funds" and "potential cases of nepotism", with the state body announcing the move on Monday.
A group of citizens and culture field professionals gathered outside the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia on Friday to demand resignation of minister Thea Tsulukiani and end to "Bolshevik purges" at culture institutions, following layoffs from the Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts and a recent spat between the ministry and the Literature Museum over a newly published poetry collection.
The Georgian National Film Centre needs "institutional and financial strengthening" on its 20th anniversary and there are no grounds for criticism about it having exhausted its potential, Director Gaga Chkheidze has said in a social media message underscoring the importance of the state cinema body.
A newly established union of culture workers has vowed to fight the sacking of up to 20 employees of the Georgian National Museum network this week, after the professionals held a protest in Tbilisi on Wednesday in response to the latest round of controversial dismissals from cultural institutions since the appointment of Culture Minister Thea Tsulukiani.
A group of 130 current and recently dismissed employees of the Georgian National Museum network has asked Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to interfere in controversial developments at their museum venues to ensure the "destructive policy" of Culture Minister Thea Tsulukiani, who is accused of politically motivated dismissals of professionals at culture institutions, is "stopped".
A former Georgian National Museum employee has won a court case against her dismissal from the national network in one of the first rulings in a series of lawsuits filed by a group of professionals recently laid off from the body and alleging political motivations by Culture Minister Thea Tsulukiani in the move.