What can a person do during the pandemic, under strict restrictions? Least likely he can make a film. Giorgi Gogichaishvili's short film "10:45" (2021) was made by the creative team of the Sibler Film company during the pandemic. Moreover, it can be said that the pandemic became a motivator, an inspiration and a determinant of the place of action.
If the tradition of Georgian cinema repeats itself thematically and develops artistic-thematic interpretations interestingly, then this refers to the versions of man's search for himself most clearly and obviously; dysfunctionality, or adaptation and spiritual crisis that originate in the themes interpreted by the 1960s continue for decades. They find various manifestations - in the Georgian cinema of the 1980s-1990s, 2000s and of the most recent period.
The phenomenon of falling in love at first sight, how it changes the course of life forever, and the monotonous, unbearable existence of a person affected by the loss of this love - these are the topics that have attracted the interest of filmmakers from the beginning, and have captured the hearts of readers for centuries. It is a difficult task to create a plot and characters that will attract the attention of the audience since love plays such a conceptual, irreplaceable role in human life and readers and viewers have seen and imprinted in their minds a whole cascade of diverse stories about typical lovers.
"They co-exist and they don't co-exist" - this is how Nika explains Dachi what negative numbers are. Nika and Dachi are inmates of a juvenile detention institution just like their peers there - rejected by society and sometimes, even by their families. "Negative Numbers" (2019) is a film by Uta Beria, which is shown to children in different regions of Georgia as part of the "Cinema at School" project and then discussed. It's a good project and a good choice of film. The topics, which take an artistic form in this film, constantly excite any society: people stuck in prison, especially the under-aged; dishonest representatives of justice; the effects of the criminal world on children and adolescents and on society in general; oppression of a person by another one, superior to him, or by a system.
The image of injustice spread in the colorless space of modernity seems to be perceived as a biblical generalization of one villager, if we create a true story of happiness, philanthropy and oppression of truth. The feature film of director and screenwriter Beso Solomanashvili, "Vegetable Garden in the Conflict Zone" (2021) depicts the tragedy of the 2008 war. In all its essence, such concrete and dramatic, human misery seems to be easily generalized if we find an artistic equivalent, as the author of the film was able to do.
Young director Ioseb (Soso) Bliadze's full-length film "A Room of my Own"" (2022) has received the most attention among recent films. The idea which the work conveys is clear and understandable - a young woman is in the process of searching for herself as well as life's surprises, thus, many problems that exist in the life of a modern Georgian.
Any social drama, based on the artistic interpretation of facts that have lost its function and undermine human dignity, can very easily turn into a tragedy - such is the special way of dealing with reality dictated by modern life and remained yet from the era of Italian neorealism, which invariably gives the cinema the opportunity to reach a tragic end. This ability of social drama is noteworthy as the latter has changed many times the range of attitudes towards values, and is one of the most important genre and artistic forms today, which can even see shocking reality from its dangerous, internal, unexpected side and present it to us.
My interest in Margo Zubashvili's short film, "The Sun is Sleeping" (2017) was caused by two factors: Margo is the daughter of a famous film and television director, and the main role in this film is played by Nino Kasradze, an actress whose participation is a prerequisite for me to be particularly interested in the film or play, especially since I have already seen her in Margo Zubashvili’s previous work, "Dinosaur," where only in one episode she showed us the character, interests with impressive acting skills.
It has been a long time since cinema stopped being a mass entertainment spectacle. It is a reflection of society now - sometimes propagandistic, sometimes harsh and sometimes fantastically bright, but it should clearly show the line between good and bad, white and black and even if it is a film about a negative character, the audience should not want to be in his place.
Nikoloz Gabunia's student film "For the Motherland and Stalin" (2019) describes the events unfolded during one day, where the key figure is the main character, grandfather’s foot. It is a kind of attribute for the director to juxtapose two worlds, World War II era and modern Georgia or society. The film does not teach any moralistic, “smart” lessons. Nikoloz Gabunia simply reflects the events, chooses neutrality, does not favor any side, does not try to romanticize anything or offend anyone. He only tells stories.