Oscar-nominated Corn Island to debut in German cinemas

Georgian Oscar-nominated movie Corn Island (Simindis Kundzuli) will soon debut in cinemas throughout Germany.

German company 42film GmbH announced Corn Island will be screened nationwide in Germany on May 28.

The German premiere of the film will be held in Halle (Saale) on May 26 followed by Berlin on May 27, after which Corn Island will be screened in cinemas throughout the country.

The multi-nation co-production was directed by Georgian man George Ovashvili. Since its release in 2014 the film has won numerous awards and international film festivals. Countries involved in the making of the film were Georgia, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and Hungary.

Corn Island is an almost wordless story about an aging farmer and his granddaughter pitted against nature and a lingering ethnic conflict.

The action takes place at Enguri River; the natural border of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. There the spring floods create a small island in the middle of the river where an old peasant grows corn. Later a Georgian border policeman comes to the island and changes the seemingly ideal life of the old peasant and his 16-year old granddaughter.

Since its release the film has won 21 awards and gained six nominations at prestigious international film festivals.

Corn Island won several Audience Awards for the best film at several film festivals; Athens Panorama of European Cinema, Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema, Fribourg International Film Festival, Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, San Sebastian International Film Festival and Trieste Film Festival.

In addition, the movie won a Crystal Globe and the Award of the Ecumenical Jury at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Best Cinematography Award and Grand Prize at the Kinoshok - Open CIS and Baltic Film Festival and the Golden Antigone Award at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival.