London Georgian Film Festival to screen award-winning cinema

A selection of recent and classic Georgian cinema, meetings with award-winning directors and actors from the country, and exhibitions with hospitality are all in the upcoming London Georgian Film Festival opening next month in the city.

From prized contemporary cinema work including Rusudan Glurjidze’s House of Others to arthouse productions like Elene Naveriani’s I Am Truly a Drop of Sun on Earth and Soviet-era masterpieces including Blue Mountains, a diverse range of films have been included in the program.

The fifth edition of the festival, which is also titled Life Through Cinema, will open on the first day of May with a display of Georgian cinema banners from vaults of the country’s National Archives.

Mark your calendar! 5th #London Georgian Film Festival ‘Life Through Cinema,’ on 1– 8May will present best of contemporary Georgian #Cinema &celebrate Georgian #culture from #food#wine & #music to anniversary of 1st Georgian Republic https://t.co/fMyJY5yzxq@GeorgiaFilmFestpic.twitter.com/vGmt5PGFEp

— Tamar Beruchashvili (@tberuch) April 3, 2018

Hosting visitors with Georgian wine and cuisine, the exhibition will be open for visitors throughout the week, while another public event will also open on May 2.

At Terroirs wine bar on Trafalgar Square, the same venue hosting the opening occasion, the Didgori folk singing ensemble will perform for visitors.

The film program of the festival will launch on May 3 at Regent Street Cinema, with a host of short and feature films and panel discussions celebrating the festival every day through May 8.

With over a dozen works in screening, the program will cover the recent resurgence of the film scene in Georgia that has been recognised with international awards and critical acclaim.

The full program of screenings, which can be viewed here, includes the following films:

• My Happy Family (2017) directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross

• Gogita's New Life (2016) directed by Levan Koguashvili

• Blue Mountains, or an Unbelievable Story (1983) directed by Eldar Shengelaia

• The Chair (2017) directed by Eldar Shengelaia

• My English Grandfather (1987) directed by Nana Jorjadze

• I Am Truly a Drop of Sun on Earth (2017) directed by Elene Naveriani

• House of Others (2016) directed by Rusudan Glurjidze

• Gospel of Anasyrma (2014) directed by Elene Naveriani

• City of the Sun (2017) directed by Rati Oneli

• Our Blood is Wine (2018) directed by Emily Railsback

• Dede (2017) directed by Mariam Khatchvani

• The Confession (2017) directed by Zaza Urushadze

• When the Earth Seems to be Light (2015) directed by Tamuna Karumidze, Salome Machaidze, David Meskhi

• Scary Mother (2017) directed by Ana Urushadze

This year’s London Georgian Film Festival is marking the special date of the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of independence of Georgia’s First Democratic Republic in 1918.

The festival was founded in 2010 by Jason Osborn, Nina Andjaparidze and Keti Japaridze.