One of the more exciting and original national cinemas that has emerged in recent years is that of the republic of Georgia. This country in the Caucasus region seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991. After several conflicts and secessionist wars, the bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003 marked the beginning of a new era. This gradually opened the door for a wave of modern Georgian cinematography. Its new, talented filmmakers have by now received a lot of international film festival awards.

One of the early postings on our Nexus film site was about the Georgian film My Happy Family by Nana Ekvitimishvili and Simon Gross, cited as one of the best films of 2017. Another remarkable film from Georgia is Tangerines, made by Zaza Urushadze in 2013. At the Gothenburg Film Festival in 2018 I had the opportunity to see two films from Georgia that received high ratings from me: Namme by Zaza Khasvashi and Dede by Mariam Khatchvani, both from 2017. 

At the recent Seminci film festival 2019 in Valladolid in Spain, Georgia was one of its major themes. The first film I saw at this festival was Scary Mother from 2017, the debut film of Ana Urushadze, who is the daughter of the earlier mentioned Zaza who made Tangerines. Scary Mother is about a middle-aged woman who is torn between her family and her writing ambitions. Shot in the post-communistic milieu of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi with its brutal architecture, it is a psychological story of emancipation. Containing mythology and symbolism, the film leads us to her revealing of what she has been writing and of her attempts to find herself in her world so dominated by men.

The second film I saw at this festival was Corn Island from 2014, made by George Ovashvili. This film plays in the border region of Georgia and Abchasia. Since 2008 Georgia considers Abchasia as Russian-occupied territory and the border is patrolled by Russian soldiers. The title of the film refers to the phenomenom of temporary island-formations in the Enguri river when the melting snow waters from the mountains carry along earth and form islands in the river which are perfect for cultivating corn. The film starts with an old man arriving at such a place, claiming it as his and bringing his teenager granddaughter along to build a hut. The whole film plays within the limits of this little island. There is hardly any dialogue. The sounds of nature are allowed to speak. Tension increases when different groups of patrolling soldiers pass by and a wounded soldier invades the peace of their tranquil spot. It becomes the setting of a summer of coming-of-age for the granddaughter. With its minimalism with almost wordless acting, yet full of emotions and with enigmatic narrative strength, I call this a matchless movie! 

So, whenever you come across a film from Georgia from the past decade, I recommend to pay attention and to give it a chance to give you a cineastic experience!  

Rinus, Nov 2019

*image & video posted under fair use of copyright material in recommendation of the film

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