1952 წლის შემოდგომის თბილისი. სოლოლაკი. დავითაშვილის (ახლა ამაღლების) ქუჩა. ძველისძველი ფირფიტა ტრიალებს და მუსიკის ხმა ისმის საიდანღაც, შორიდან. ბიჭები ქუჩაში ფეხბურთს თამაშობენ. მანქანა აქა-იქ თუ გაივლის. ესაა ან გადატვირთული საბარგო, ან ახალთახალი კრიალა „პობედა“, ან ნაომარი ამერიკული „სტუდებეკერი“. გაიგონებენ თუ არა ბავშვები რომელიმე მანქანის ძრავის ხმაურს, თავს ანებებენ ბურთს და ჟრიამულით გამოეკიდებიან მას. აი, მოუხვია […]
ONCE MORE ABOUT LOVE Read More »
There is a clear tendency in the contemporary world cinema to search for new forms of fables, myths or fairy tales which are aimed at a “philosophical” assessment of modern society, man’s inner world, the essence of life and its values, as well as issues facing society within the free framework of the genre. The same processes are present in the latest Georgian cinema of last decade. Directors of different generations and radically different in many ways – Levan Koghuashvili with “Random Dates,” Giorgi Ovashvili with “Corn Island” and “Frost and the Little Disciple,” Zaza Khalvashi with “Namme,” Aleksandre Koberidze with “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky” and “Dry Leaf,” Anka Gujabidze with “Temo Re,” Giga Liklikadze with “Pig,...
BETWEEN LEGENDS AND REALITY Read More »
Tato Kotetishvili’s full-length film, “Holy Electricity” (2024), which is both a feature and a documentary creates a hybrid cinema. This is not an overly decorated, artificially sophisticated or scripted work. On the contrary, the director takes a very simple and seemingly everyday story, which is the reason why the film ultimately turns out to be natural and human. It begins with the scene of Gonga’s father’s funeral. The camera calmly follows traditional Georgian customs without excessive drama. Here Kotetishvili’s main approach is visible – cinema ...
A particularly important place in a person’s life is full of those emotions that most often are killed within themselves – be it envy, regret, doubt or something else. At the same time, they are precisely such intense emotions that allow a person to see his own actions from a broader, more generalized perspective and then find himself facing a dilemma. Split personality, the struggle with his own identity and just the study of the foundations of man have been issues around which cinema has revolved since time immemorial. Examples of this are Bergman’s dreamlike “Persona” ...
THE DARKNESS WITHIN ONESELF Read More »
A Czech photographer Miroslav Tichý said: “If you want to take a real photograph, then you have to have a bad camera.” This phrase was the cornerstone of his creative philosophy, as he was known not only for his creativity but also for the camera he built his own hands from cardboard parts with. After watching Aleksandre Koberidze’s film “Dry Leaf” (2025), one really got the feeling that this director is influenced by the philosophy of the legendary Czech photographer. This film was shown at the 26th Tbilisi International Film Festival. The cinema hall was full of viewers to see another masterpiece of Georgian cinema, which shows a 186-minute amazing journey...
EPOS CREATED WITH A MOBILE PHONE Read More »
You are not alone even when you consider yourself being most invisible. Just stop and take a deep breath, smile and keep walking when you think that people do not notice you, do not acknowledge or recognize you. Sometimes everything is not as it seems from a distance. You need to stand close to them to understand events well. People are not as evil as they seem from afar. They are just fighting to survive in this cruel world. Some find solace in music, some in drugs and even sacrifice themselves to it. The culprit in all this is not a specific person, but time. Time that spares no one. “Ronin was sitting on the roof of the house and did not come down to people” - this phrase...
“Temo Re” (2025), the film by director and photographer Anka Gujabidze attracted viewers and critics’ attention at the Tbilisi and, a bit earlier, Kutaisi international festivals. Its international success began at the Rotterdam 2025 Film Festival, when it was awarded the Tiger Shorts and the Netherlands Film Critics’ Awards for Short Films. These “awards” and prizes have a solid and unmistakable foundations - based on the fact of an unconventional vision, a new film language and style, a different way of presenting a literary text on the screen and the creation of a new artistic reality. Anka Gujabidze combines her two professions in an unconventional way and effortlessly breaks into the space ...
A COURIER'S ONE-DAY ENDLESS ODYSSEY IN ONE CITY Read More »
Modern Georgian cinema often explores a person’s the inner loneliness, pain and invisible traumas. This tendency is especially noticeable among young directors. They boldly try to convey emotional topics with small budgets, through narratives based on personal stories. Tazo Narimanidze's film, “Winter Blues” (2021), belongs to this type. By focusing on psychological drama, it attempts to convey a modern person’s inner crisis on the screen. This is a film about loss, ...
WINTER THAT STAYS IN THE SOUL Read More »
სიღარიბე საშინელი რაღაცაა, პირდაპირ სულში გწვდება და ადამიანობას გართმევს ისეთი ნელი აგონიით, რომ საკუთარ თავს ვეღარც ცნობ. არ იცი, რისთვის გააბიჯებ თბილი ოთახიდან გაყინულ ქალაქში. სევდიან რუტინად ქცეული ყოველდღიური პირქუში დღეები იმდენად მისაღები ხდება, დაგავიწყებს, რა არის კარგი ცხოვრება. თბილისის გადაღლილ ქუჩებში აქეთ-იქით მიმავალი ხალხი ზოგჯერ ყურსაც კი არ შეიბერტყავს, ისე ჩაუვლის დიდი სინანულით გამოწვდილ
TBILISIAN “SWEET LIFE” Read More »
ივანე ბეგიაშვილის სტუდენტური ფილმი, „დიალოგი ტბის პირას“ (2022), რომელიც გადაღებულია რიუნოსკე აკუტაგავას მოთხრობის – „დიალოგი წყვდიადში“ მოტივების მიხედვით, უფრო საინტერესოს ხდის მის ყურების პროცესს. მიუხედავად ამისა, დასასრულისას რჩება შეგრძნება, რომ ფილმს რაღაც აკლია და რომ თითქოს რეჟისორმა განზრახ დატოვა მაყურებელი ამ უჩვეულო პოზიციაში. ეს აჩენს კითხვას – წარმოდგენილი ამბავი რეალურია თუ ძლიერად შეფუთული ილუზიაა? პირველივე
THE ILLUSION OF REALITY OR CONVERSELY Read More »