Filmmaker Eldar Shengelaia claims Russia’s Nika Award for ’The Chair’
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The latest work by acclaimed Georgian filmmaker Eldar Shengelaia has been honoured with Russia’s cinema prize Nika, with the director’s feature The Chair announced among the winning entries of the event in Moscow on Sunday.
Shengelaia’s satirical comedy was recognised by the judges as the Best Film of the region comprised of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Baltic countries and Georgia.
The film involves a cast of mainly Georgian actors in a portrayal of political power and corruption through a humorous plot.
After the defeat in elections, Refugees Eviction Minister, Giorgi Mchedlishvili, loses everything that is dear to him: the office, the car, the source of income and most importantly - power.
Giorgi’s chair, which is a live being, motivates former Minister to take actions, but these efforts do not bring the desired result. In these difficult times Giorgi meets Donara, refugee women, which he marries later”, says a summary of Shengelaia’s work.
Premiered by the 2017 Moscow International Film Festival, the feature is also going to be screened at the upcoming Beijing International Film Festival later this month.
The principal protagonist of the comedy is played by actor Niko Tavadze. Photo: Internet Movie Database.
It marks the latest creative endeavour by the 1933-born director who has directed nearly a dozen works since 1958.
Best known for acclaimed Soviet-era features Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story (1983) and An Unusual Exhibition (1968), Shengelaia also served as a jury member for the 1986 Venice Film Festival.
His film’s success at the Nika Awards follows last year’s win at the Moscow event for House of Others by another Georgian filmmaker Rusudan Glurjidze.
Established in 1987 in Moscow by director and actor Yuli Gusman, the awards are held by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science.
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