National Film Center Commission members in legal dispute against “unfounded” dismissals
Following the dismissal of Gaga Chkheidze, the former Director of GNFC, by the Culture Ministry in March following allegations of "misuse of funds" and "potential cases of nepotism" - disputed by Chkheidze - the members of the Commission were notified by email about a postponement of the interview phase, and a month later were informed the Commission’s ranks would undergo a “complete renewal”, the ISFED said. Photo: ISFED
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A group of Expert Commission members of the Georgian National Film Center have launched a legal dispute against their dismissals and alleged the Culture Minister’s bias in their replacement on the positions in the midst of work to select winners of the body’s current competition for feature films.
The seven cinema professionals said they had not received explanations of the grounds for their replacement with newly appointed members of the Commission, calling the decision “unfounded and insulting”.
They will be represented by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy non-governmental organisation in the dispute, with the ISFED saying the termination of their contracts with the GNFC did not meet required standards.
The ISFED noted the dismissals had taken place in the middle of the process of the Commission members’ assessment of 15 projects submitted for the feature film competition, ahead of interviews included in the process and before the final phase of the Commission revealing its winners.
Following the dismissal of Gaga Chkheidze, the former Director of GNFC, by the Culture Ministry in March following allegations of "misuse of funds" and "potential cases of nepotism" - disputed by Chkheidze - the members of the Commission were notified by email about a postponement of the interview phase, and a month later were informed the Commission’s ranks would undergo a “complete renewal”, the ISFED said.
To date, the members of the Commission have not received any justification, or any kind of explanation, as to the reasons and grounds for their dismissal,” the NGO noted.
ISFED Executive Director Nino Dolidze placed both the dismissal of Chkheidze - who said he would sue the Ministry if not reinstated on the position - and the replacement of Commission members in the light of a “cleansing of cadres” from cultural institutions in Georgia following the appointment of Thea Tsulukiani as the Minister in the spring of 2021, a view shared by a part of culture field professionals in the country.
In the statement, Dolidze said under Tsulukiani the Ministry was launching “‘reorganisations’ involving sackings of people [employed by cultural institutions] deemed not loyal to her or her political views,” and called the alleged process “unacceptable”.