Filmmaker Zaza Urushadze awarded Italian cinema prize for ’Tangerines’

Georgia’s 2015 Oscar-nominated feature Tangerines has been recognised with a latest international prize, after Zaza Urushadze’s acclaimed work received the San Fedele Award for Cinema in Italy.

The feature was picked by a jury of film industry professionals as this year’s recipient of the award created to honour some of the most valuable international productions annually.

As a recipient of the award, Urushadze has joined a list of film directors that features famous filmmakers including Wim Wenders, Pedro Almodovar and Roman Polanski.

Established in 1956, the San Fedele prize was handed out for the 61st time this year. The awards are organised by the San Fedele Cultural Foundation in Milan.

Urushadze has received critical acclaim for Tangerines, which was selected as Georgia’s bid for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and nominated for the Golden Globe Award.

The film is set in the midst of the Georgian-Abkhazian war in the 1990s, as two Estonian immigrant farmers choose to stay in their tangerine farm in the conflict zone to collect the seasonal crop.

The prize for the San Fedele Award for Cinema. Photo: centrosanfedele.net.

Their home becomes a shelter for two wounded soldiers from the opposing sides, who arrive at the doorstep looking for medical aid. The house becomes a shared space for the combatants who have to confront their feelings toward one another as they recuperate.

Since its premiere in 2013 the feature was awarded a dozen prizes at international festivals and competitions including the Best European Film Award at the 2016 Gaudi Awards and Best Director Award at the 2013 Warsaw International Film Festival.