Georgia’s Culture Ministry hosts screening of 20th century films from country at Danish event

Georgia's Ministry of Culture on Thursday said films produced in the country in the latter decades of the 20th century were being screened at Georgian Culture Days, an event running in Denmark’s capital of Copenhagen to showcase culture and performing arts from the country.

The Ministry said cinema historian Ketevan Trapaidze led a screening of The Wishing Tree, a 1976 feature by Tengiz Abuladze, at the event. It said viewers were shown the film “rich in psycho-philosophical metaphors addressing beauty, anger, loneliness, struggle, sadness, and love”, based on works by Georgian poet and writer Giorgi Leonidze.

The Ministry also said the screening “highlighted the philosophical depth of the country’s cinema, presenting its characters as icons of existence”.

The body noted the event was aimed to contribute to deepening of cultural relations between the two countries and “introduce Georgian culture and traditions to European people”, with the event set to end today.

Further screenings are set to include The First Swallow, a 1975 work by director Nana Mtchedlidze, on the closing day of the event.

Georgian traditional song and dance performances, visual and theatre shows have also been hosted during the event, with the programme involving folk ensembles Basiani and Kutaisi.

In other parts of the programme, a presentation of calligraphy art was showcased by Georgian artist Giorgi Sisauri.

The Georgian Cultural Days in Copenhagen were organised on the initiative of the country’s Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with support from the Georgian Embassy in Denmark.