Georgian filmmaker shines spotlight on family relationships:
Nana Ekvtimishvili co-directs new feature film

Award-winning filmmakers Nana Ekvtimishvili of Georgia and Simon Gross of Germany are teaming up for a second time to co-direct a new film that tells the tale of a Georgian woman struggling to find peace in a family conflict.

The two directors are currently filming their second joint film My Happy Family. Georgian actors were cast in leading roles, and filming began on Sunday at various locations in Georgia.

My Happy Family is a German-Georgian-French co-production and it’s supported by various European cinema funds and agencies.

A still from the new feature film 'My Happy Family'. Photo from My Happy Family/Facebook.

The film tells the story of a 52-year-old Georgian woman caught up in a conflict between her family and her personal freedom, and facing results of her decisions that cause divisions and confrontation between people in the plot.

While the film was still in its production phase it won the Eurimages project development prize at the 2014 Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ekvtimishvili and Gross speak at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2013 ahead of the premiere of their first feature film 'In Bloom'. Photo from www.berlinale.de.

Ekvtimishvili and Gross produced their first joint feature film In Bloom in 2013. The film premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2013 and went on to win 30 awards at other international festivals and contests.

The film was selected as Georgia's 2014 Oscar bid and was celebrated with special screenings honouring Georgian cinema in the United Kingdom and Germany this year.

Official support for filming My Happy Family was provided by the European Cinema Support Fund Eurimages, Germany's Federal Film Fund, Public Broadcaster ZDF and leading state film funding institution NRW, as well as cinema production agency BKM.