Georgia's Oscar bid, short by Luka Beradze in FilmFestival Cottbus programmes

Georgia's Academy Award bid Brighton 4th and a short film by Luka Beradze will be on the big screen for viewers following this year's FilmFestival Cottbus programmes, with the two works in schedule to be shown to cinephiles on November 5 and 6.

The feature-length work by Levan Koguashvili - unveiled as the national selection for the Oscars earlier this month - will bring to the viewers its cinematography by Academy Award-nominated Phedon Papamichael, and a screenplay following a father on a mission to rescue his son from a gambling debt.

Played by former Georgian professional wrestler Levan Tediashvili, the protagonist Khakchi travels to the United States, where his son is trapped in the circumstances, and challenges a mafia boss to a fight.

[I]n a series of stirring ensemble scenes, Levan Koguashvili portrays the deeply-rooted cultural identity of his compatriots, a culture able to overcome time and space

- FilmFest Cottbus

Earning the Best International Narrative Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor prizes at Tribeca Film Festival in June, Brighton 4th also received the Jury Prize and the ARP Selection Award at Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film Lab during its production in 2019.

The feature will be screened in the feature competition section in two sessions on November 5 and 6.

In the short film programme,  director Luka Beradze will be represented with his 2021 work Sorry for Being Late, a satire involving a family accusing a rescue team for the death of their mother, and their quest against a paramedic, later transforming into an unfolding understanding of their anger.

Involving screenwriting by the director and cinematography by Lomero Akhvlediani, the short will be shown to Cottbus festival viewers in three screenings on November 5 and 6. The overall programme of the festival is set to run between November 2-7.