Alexandre Koberidze's feature earns Sevilla festival prize for photography
From left: cinematographer Faraz Fesharaki, director Alexandre Koberidze and producer Mariam Shatberashvili, pictured at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. Photo via Berlinale.
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Filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze's feature What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? collected its latest international accolade on the weekend, with the film earning its cinematographer Faraz Fesharaki the Best Photography Award at Festival de Sevilla.
Organisers of the cinema celebration in the Spanish city handed out their prizes on Saturday, with Fesharaki honoured with the award for his work on the film that screened in the Official Selection programme, and had the Spanish premiere at the event.
It marks the first major prize for the cinematographer, who previously worked on short titles, including the award-winning Cross-Country Drive (2017) by filmmaker Borbála Nagy. Fesharaki has also directed himself, with his works including the 2017 short It's a criminal waste to give this film a postproduction - co-directed with Moritz Friese.
???? Mejor Fotografía para:
— Festival Sevilla (@festivalsevilla) November 13, 2021
- Faraz Fesharaki, por ¿Qué vemos cuando miramos al cielo?, de Alexandre Koberidze (Georgia, Alemania).#SEFF2021 pic.twitter.com/3dAX2UDEBg
The Georgian-German co-production, described by a New York Times review as "[p]leasing, exasperating, poignant and coy", brought to the Sevilla festival the director's look at its two protagonists, who suddenly lose one another due to changed appearances the morning after the day of their first meeting.
Played by Giorgi Bochorishvili and Ani Karseladze, the two characters are seen in urban surroundings of the central Georgian city of Kutaisi, with the film's summary for the festival calling it a "celebration of the unveiling magic of cinema in the most surprising title of the season".
Efforts of the director, the cinematographer and the rest of the crew and the cast saw the feature earn the FIPRESCI international film critics association award at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, while also taking the Batumi Internatinoal Arthouse Film Festival Grand Prix.
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? has also been named as one of five nominees in FIPRESCI's Best Film of 2021 selection.