KHARAGAULI WAITING FOR GODOT

Big ambitions, large-scale projects, rural people, government missteps and endless waiting. Nino Orjonikidze and Vano Arsenishvili's full-length documentary, “A Tunnel” (2019), demonstrates clear evidence that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The film reflects the never-ending cycle of construction of the Moliti railway station in Kharagauli district. This large-scale and pompous project of the government and Georgian Railways changes ...

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JOURNEY IN THE DARK

  "The Criminal Man" is the name of Dimitri Mamulia's film, which was shot in 2019. The director already sets the mood and anticipation with this title. The main character is identified and vilified by the author. In the fight between good and evil, the side is certain. It is clear for the audience from the beginning who they will be dealing with. They do not have to wait long to meet evil. The film begins with a murder episode, witnessed by the main character Giorgi ...

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THAT INVISIBLE FORCE WHICH CONTROLS US

Screenings have always attracted viewers’ attention and are still very popular among movie audiences. This is logical – people are interested how directors will be able to portray their favorite novels, stories, characters' adventures on the screen. Based on such high expectations among the audience, of course, even greater responsibility falls on the director and his film crew, since there is more criticism of the film from the public and it is to be expected. The risk is high, and the chance that the director will fail to live up to the audience’s expectations ...

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OASIS ON THE LANDFILL

“Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit and intelligence of citizens,“ – these words belong to the 19th century politician, Joseph Story, who defined the entire idea of the republic, which is also applicable to the 21st century commune created on the Batumi landfill. "Respublika" (2021) is a documentary film by Khvicha and Tinatin Emiridze, which shows Dato’s life, of a person who illegally settled in Batumi landfill. He is not alone. Around him, in fact, ...

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THE HOUSE IN WHICH THE WAR CONTINUES

Creating films about war started from the very origins of cinema. Different generations of filmmakers have brought to the screen the devastating consequences of senseless bloodshed to remind us that there are no winners in war. The topic of war is already shown from all sides, both inside and outside, but all wars end sooner or later and the question inevitably arises, what happens next? Sure, a peaceful life but what would it look like? ...

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I DO NOT BELEIVE 

I will start with not an original question - according to what do we evaluate the film in general, what do we pay the most attention to: "what" or "how?” If to "what" - then "Wet Sand" (2021) by Elene Naveriani is a wonderful film, with an acute problem, which today has become a leading trend not only in the world, but also in Georgian cinema, despite the fact that society still closes its eyes to it and does not enjoy talking about it much. The gravity of difference...

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DEEPLY HIDDEN IDEA OR LACK OF IDEA?

Fog Curtain" (2019) is Tinatin Emiridze’s short student film. When it comes to this kind of work, the director can be forgiven for some mistakes because professional experience eases him over time and his subsequent works gradually improve, although there are issues that stand out as glaring ones in this particular film. All types of cinema have their own distinct characteristics, including documentary film. There are many difficulties in working with it. First of all, it means unforeseen ...

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TBILISI-BRIGHTON

It's good when a filmmaker makes a film along with like-minded people. In Levan Koguashvili’s case, like-minded to him, first of all, is Boris Frumin – director, screenwriter, producer, teacher, who taught him film directing in his master's degree at the Tisch School of Art of New York University. Frumin is the co-author of Koguashvili's film scripts: "Street Days" (2010), "Blind Dates" (2013) and the screenwriter of the film, "Brighton 4th" (2021). Koguashvili has another like-minded person, Kote Japaridze, who ...

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PEOPLE LOST IN SEARCH OF EQUALITY 

Under the conditions of the existence of the Soviet government, censorship and ideological pressure, documentary cinema became a passive attester of reality, although in this routine, monotonous process of development there were stages when it tried to state the author's vision and citizen's positions. It can be said that the 1920s and 1960s are the stages of the rise of Georgian documentary cinema....

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FROM FEAR TO "SCARY MOTHER"

The first films are a statement to establish oneself in great cinema. At first, it is difficult to determine how independent an artist is. Film director Ana Urushadze is one of the lucky exceptions, and her first full-length feature film "Scary Mother" (2017) stands out from the filmmakers of her generation in terms of its range of interests and artistic value. It tells a seemingly simple story: the mother of the family, housewife Manana (Nato Murvanidze) is working

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