Georgian Film Director wins international film award

Georgian director Levan Koguashvili has won a prestigious film award for his expert directing.

Koguashvili was awarded the Award of the City of Wiesbaden for Best Director for his film Blind Dates at the goEast film festival, which showcases Central and Eastern European films. For his achievement he was also awarded €7,500 (22 000 GEL).

Judges said: "The award is granted for taking us through the authentic cinematic world, for the sensitive directing, and for a charming cast and extraordinary humour representing the great tradition of Georgian national cinematography”.

goEast is an International Film Festival which has been held annually in the Hessian state capital of Wiesbaden, Germany, since its inception in 2001. It is primarily for films with an Eastern European background.

Koguashvili’s film previously was recognized at the Sofia International Film Festival and beat more than 200 films from 54 countries to win the Grand Prix award for Best Film and Best Director. The win saw him awarded €10 000 (29 400 GEL) in prize money.

Blind Dates, which is Koguashvili’s second feature, also received the FIPRESCI International Film Critics’ prize and the Special Jury Award plus $50,000 USD (87 500 GEL) at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2013.

The film is about a lonely 40-year-old school teacher who takes up with the wife of a soon-to-be-released convict. It is a compassionate, tragic comedy that comments on relationships and the profound emotional responsibilities they trigger. It describes bachelorhood's quiet desperation and its constant search for true companionship.

The Georgian premiere of Blind Dates will appear in December at the Tbilisi International Film Festival.

The film had a total budget of £650,000 (1.9 million GEL).