North America’s largest documentary fest premieres film by Tamta Gabrichidze

Audience of the ongoing Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival will be treated to the international premiere of Georgian filmmaker Tamta Gabrichidze’s latest short film Sovdagari next week.

The 22-minute work will debut at the festival promoted as North America’s largest documentary cinema event on May 2 and 3.

The film will tell the story of a Georgian man traversing the countryside looking to sell second-hand clothing and everyday items in a portrayal of the stark contrast between urban and rural life.

Gabrichidze’s film will be part of the Shorts section of the cinema event featuring 230 films from nearly 60 countries. The festival launched on April 27.

Sovdagari has been selected for the section alongside 41 other works including The Watchmaker by London-based filmmaker Marie-Cecile Embleton and He Who Dances on Wood by Mexican-Ethiopian director Jessica Beshir.

Produced by Ilia Tavberidze and featuring cinematography by Vano Andiashvili, the 2016 short is the latest film by Gabrichidze.

A scene from the documentary ‘Sovdagari’. Photo: Hot Docs.

The Georgian director has worked on a number of short productions over the last five years including Hidden Names and Lady Inmate, with the latter screening as part of the official selection for the 2016 Toronto Urban Film Festival.

The Hot Docs festival will also include a film market bringing together industry professionals for business meetings.

The festival will run in Toronto through May 7.