First Georgian 3D animation ’Geno’ to screen around the world

Cinema theatres in Asia, Europe and North America will screen Geno — the first-ever Georgian 3D animation film that has been distinguished with international awards at festivals.

A range of cinemas in Japan, South Korea, France, Spain and the United States obtained screening rights for director Dato Kiknavelidze’s short recently.

The Georgian-German co-production, which premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France last year, sends a message about environmental issues.

Kiknavelidze has said he decided to address the subject with the film after witnessing a disappearance of green areas as a result of residential construction near his house, next to Tbilisi's Lisi Lake.

Inspired to address the global problem, the filmmaker set the animation around a lake and its animal inhabitants, faced with a threat of losing their natural habitat.

With its development launched in 2013, Geno won that year's Robert Bosch Foundation Film Prize, which paved the way for its international promotion.

The film has also been supported by the Georgian National Film Centre.

Director Dato Kiknavelidze with the award from the International Children’s Film Festival. Photo: Dato Kiknavelidze.

The short has been screened at festivals around the world since its premiere in France, and won Best Short Animation Award at the International Children's Film Festival last month.

Kiknavelidze's previous animation works includes the 2010 short Vacuum, which screened at the Tbilisi International Film Festival. The Georgian director holds degrees in art and animation and is art director at Tbilisi-based Lira Production studio.

The full schedule for screenings of Geno is expected to be announced at a later date, however the GNFC said Los Angeles would be the city hosting the closing screening.