Georgian film project selected for eastern Europe's CEE Animation Workshop
The work-in-progress feature is based on an allegorical story by late author Jemal Karchkhadze, now taught in primary school classes for Georgian literature. Image: CEE Animation Workshop.
Tweet 
Share
An animation project based on a short story by acclaimed late Georgian author Jemal Karchkhadze has been selected among a dozen submissions from across Europe to be developed at a series of workshops in Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic.
Coming from filmmaker Natia Nikolashvili and producer Vladimer Katcharava, Igi is a work-in-progress feature picked for the CEE Animation Workshop, a year-long programme for cinema professionals.
Selected alongside European projects ranging from Portugal to Greece, the work will benefit from the programme that involves everything from script and design development to production planning and promotion.
The programme is structured as a combination of group work, lectures, masterclasses, panels and case studies" - CEE Animation
Its three workshops will be held in November this year as well as March and May 2020, with longer-term follow-up networking and market events in Europe following the three professional dates.
Artwork from the animation project for 'Igi'. Image: 20 Steps Productions.
Nikolashvili is basing her work around Karchkhadze's 1977-published short story of the same name, widely recognised as one of his finest pieces and included in Georgian primary school textbooks for literature.
The allegorical story follows a protagonist in prehistoric society, with the principal character on a path of individual development and curiosity towards the world.
This story may seem distant and old, but for me it is much more relevant fo nowadays than any modern story" - filmmaker Natia Nikolashvili
His standout character and willingness to separate from "groupthink" is marked visually through his straight-up stance, which is expected to be reflected in the animation project as well.
The story was marked for its subject matter of personal development and free thinking on the backdrop of limited political expression in the Soviet years, cementing Karchkhadze's place among authors of contemporary Georgian literature.
The animated project for Igi, utilising two-dimensional artistic format, is being created at Tbilisi-based 20 Steps Productions studio.
Next month’s Berlin International Film Festival will host the world premiere of young Georgian filmmaker Yana Ugrekhelidze’s newest work Armed Lullaby, bringing images of children fleeing conflict to a big screen.
Dozens of animation films from around the world will be screened to adult and young audiences in locations of Georgia's Black Sea coastline when Tofuzi International Animated Film Festival kicks off later this month.
A celebration of animation cinema will bring festivals, film studios and creative students to a central Georgian village for this year’s International Animation Film Festival ‘Nikozi’ starting this Sunday.
One of Europe’s major animated film festivals will introduce its viewers to a new work by Georgian director Mamuka Tkeshelashvili, with Fisherman and the Girl selected for the Annecy Festival’s official competition this summer.
A visually narrated story of an abandoned village disappearing under natural phenomena will be screened at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival in Japan, with director Mariam Kapanadze's work picked for the international competition section.