National Archives screening of films by Eldar Shengelaia marks director’s 90th birthday

A five-day retrospective of films by the acclaimed Georgian filmmaker Eldar Shengelaia opened on Wednesday at Tbilisi’s National Archives venue to mark the celebrations of the director’s 90th birthday.

Organisers launched the programme with a screening of An Extraordinary Exhibition, Shengelaia’s 1968 feature. 

Photo via National Archives of Georgia

More of the filmmaker’s recognised Soviet-era films, from the 1963 White Caravan to the 1983 Blue Mountains, or an Unbelievable Story, which gained the director a spot in the national filmography, will also be shown to audiences marking the date through Sunday.

Celebrations for Shengelaia’s birthday were launched last week, when cultural institutions and officials sent their messages on the occasion, praising the film professional for the legacy of his works.

The National Parliamentary Library marked the date by posting Soviet-era posters for some of Shengelaia’s most recognised films on social media, while the National Archives announced the programme that opened at the venue yesterday.

Born in 1933, the Shengelaia began producing films starting in the late 1950s and released features as recently as his 2017 work Chair, however a majority of his most recognised films were shot in the 1970s and 1980s.

The domestic and international recognition of his work also led Shengelaia to serve as a jury member for the 1986 Venice Film Festival.

Awarded Soviet state prizes for cinematography, including the titles of the People’s Artist of Georgia in 1979 and People's Artist of the USSR in 1988, Shengelaia was also honoured with the Shota Rustaveli State Prize of independent Georgia in 1998 and the title of the Honorary Citizen of Tbilisi last year.