Georgian fest kicks off with Istvan Szabo’s The Door

04-12-2012

Georgian fest kicks off with Istvan Szabo’s The Door

By FNE Staff

The Door

TBILISI: The 13th edition of the Georgia's Tbilisi International Film Festival (www.tbilisifilmfestival.ge) kicked off last night (3 December 2012) with a screening of Istvan Szabo’s The Door, with the Oscar winning Hungarian director in attendance.

Szabo will also give a series of lectures during the festival which runs from 3 to 9 December in the Georgian capital.

The Door is a Hungarian (FilmArt Kft www.filmart.hu) German (Intuit Pictures) coproduction starring Helen Mirren who recently won the European Film Academy Achievement in World Cinema award.

Other international guests will include British director and screenwriter Christopher Hampton while the jury will be headed by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. A retrospective of Makhmalbaf family films will be one of the highlights of the event.

The Georgian Panorama screens 11 films that show off an impressive range of diversity in style and subjects, from Aleksandre Kakabadze's All Day Strolling, which explores the isloated Potskho community, to Olga Zhgenti's thoughtful look at an American ballet master, Remembering Ballanchine. Films from a total of 26 countries will be screened during the event.

The international competition show off work just as varied, much of it created in partnership with Georgian filmmakers but also spanning Eastern Europe and beyond, with 10 features that take on issues from immigration to toxic relationships. The festival also invests in development, hosting the Pitch.Doc sessions for the fourth time, an event at which directors from the region present their work to industry pros after two days of training.

The festival's focus on German-French Friendship in Cinema is also exposing audiences to a rich vein of features and documentaries, ranging from work by Volker Schlondorff (Calm at Sea) and Wim Wenders (Pina) to Mika Kaurismaki's intriguing look at a cultural icon, Mama Africa, along with gems from the past, such as Max Ophuls' Le Plaisir and Francois Truffault's Jules and Jim.

Giancarlo Giannini's films screen for the Actor in Focus section, with work spanning the golden '70s and his collaboration with Lina Wertmuller, including Seven Beauties and Swept Away on tap.

International competition

Certain People: Sweden
Director: Levan Akin
Production: Filmlance International (www.filmlance.se)

Chaika: Spain, Russia, Georgia, France
Director: Miguel Angel Jiménez
Production: Cinetech Ltd (www.cinetech.ge)

Kinoskopik Film Produktion (www.kinoskopik.com)

Children of Sarajevo: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, France, Turkey
Director: Aida Begic
Production: Filmhouse Sarajevo (www.filmhouse.ba)
World sales:Pyramide International (www.pyramidefilms.com)

Eastalgia / Germany, Ukraine, Serbia
Director: Daria Onyshchenko
Production: Neuesuper (www.neuesuper.de)

Everybody's Gone / Russia, Georgia, Czech Republic
Director: Georgiy Paradzhanov
Production/world sales: Atlantic Film Company (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
The film is produced by Atlantic Films ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) who are also handling international sales. It is coproduced by Georgian Films based in Tbilisi, and Barrandov Studios (www.barrandov.cz).

Keep Smiling / Georgia, France, Luxemburg
Director: Rusudan Chkonia
Production: Nike Studio (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) Agat Films and CIE Ex Nihilo
Supported by the Georgian National Film Center, Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection.

Loving / Poland
Director: Sławomir Fabicki
Production: Odeon Rybarczyk Productions (www.odeon.com.pl)

Spain / Austria, Bulgaria
Director: Anja Salomonowitz
Production: Dor Film (www.dor-film.at)

Coproduced by Camera Ltd (www.camera.bg) Bulgaria
International sales:
doc&film international (www.docandfilm.com)

The Shine of a Day / Austria
Director: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel, Austria
Production: Vento Film (www.ventofilm.com)
International sales: AFC - Salesdesk (www.austrianfilm.com)

Vacuum
Giorgio Cugno, Italy, 2012

Georgian Panorama

All Day Strolling directed by Aleksandre Kakabadze, 2012

Beacom of Democracy directed by Goga Khaindrava, 2012

English Teacher directed by Nino Orjonikidze, Vano Arsenishvili, 2012

Production: Artefact Production www.artefact.ge

Forgotten King directed by Nikoloz Khomasuridze, 2012

Production: Nikoloz Films www.nikolozfilms.com

Leitmotif directed by Rati Oneli, David Seva, 2012

Short

Monotonous directed by Mamuka Akhalaia, 2012

Short

Remembering Ballanchine directed by Olga Zhgenti, 2012