12-11-2019

PRODUCTION: Georgian Director Giorgi Gogichaishvili Preps Anatori: Village of the Dead

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    Anatori: Village of the Dead by Giorgi Gogichaishvili Anatori: Village of the Dead by Giorgi Gogichaishvili

    TBILISI: Georgian director Giorgi Gogichaishvili is starting preproduction on the Georgian feature film Anatori: Village of the Dead, a love story set in a village suffering from the black plague.

    Long ago, there was a village of Anator in the ethnic region of Pirikita Khevsureti in eastern Georgia, which cut itself off from its neighbours because an epidemic. The story is inspired by real events in the village of the dead. 

    The main character is 25-year-old Gaga, from a neighbouring village, whose girlfriend is locked up in Anator. He decides to sneak into the village at the cost of his own life and spend the rest of his life with his beloved as his wife. However, time is not the only thing that precedes his love. Gaga's girlfriend, Tina, was betrothed to another villager from Anator, Mindia, when she was a child, which obliges Tina to marry him. The rule is paramount in the village and Mindia is not going to release Tina, even in the face of death.

    The main characters will be played by Paata Inauri, Mariam Kvitaishvili, Kakha Akhvlediani, Zaza Kolelishvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Davit Dvalishvili, Shako Mirianashvili, Soso Khvedelidze, Zviad Dolidze and Mariam Karkashadze.

    The film is produced by Sibler Films. The producers are Gega Khmaladze and Magdalina Datuashvili. The project was supported by Millimeter Films (Georgia) with 69,746 EUR / 223,187 GEL. The Georgian National Film Center granted 84,342 EUR / 278,585 GEL. In addition, Ronini Ltd. contributed 6,064 EUR / 19,404 585 GEL and Georgian Filmmakers gave 27,291 EUR / 87,331 585 GEL. The total budget is 222,223 EUR / 711,113  GEL.

    “When you have financial backing from your country, it makes it easier for you to find financing on a foreign market, because in this case the confidence is much higher. There is already great interest in the project,” Gega Khmaladze told FNE.  

    Scriptwriter/director Giorgi Gogichaishvili told FNE, “There was a black plague in Anator and the village decided to lock up to prevent the spread of the disease. Their collective self-sacrifice is a very human act. We cannot even fully grasp what their self-awareness, patience and courage were like. These women, children and old people died silently to  protect the world outside; The visuals, colour and aesthetics of the film will be similar to the inner world of its characters. This world is somewhat exotic in its rules and rituals, but in the end it is still more realistic.”

    Giorgi Gogichaishvili is co-director of Inga, a coproduction between Georgia, Luxembourg and Lithuania. He also co-directed the short film 8 Minutes, which did well on the international festival circuit, winning several prizes (Gold Medal at Manhattan Shorts, Best Short Film at Innsbruck Film Festival, Best Sci-Fi at Sydney Indie Film Festival) and receiving wide critical and audience acclaim.

    The project is in pre-production.

    Production Information:

    Producer:
    Sibler Films (Georgia)
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    Credits:
    Director: Giorgi Gogichaishvili
    Scriptwriter: Giorgi Gogichaishvili, Zaza Koshkadze, Mari Bekauri
    Producers: Gega Khmaladze, Magdalina Datuashvili
    Cast: Paata Inauri, Mariam Kvitaishvili, Kakha Akhvlediani, Zaza Kolelishvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Davit Dvalishvili, Shako Mirianashvili, Soso Khvedelidze, Zviad Dolidze and Mariam Karkashadze.