Producer Lasha Khalvashi from the Georgian production company Studio Artizm told FNE that if financing is in place the film will shoot in summer 2015. “We are waiting for results from the Georgian National Film Center,” he said. The Best Pitch award came with a prize of 3,000 GEL provided by the Georgian Film Fund.

Neighbours is a black comedy written by Abashidze and Ioseb Bliadze.

An international panel was assembled to meet with local film industry, including Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg’s Brigitta Manthey who handled the pitching training and remarked on the “highly motivated filmmakers” attending the event. The schedule of events running through 7 December also includes a seminar for documentary filmmakers, “Baltic to Black Sea Documentary Network,” and a presentation on film funding resources in Georgia.

Georgian regional representatives are also scheduled to meet with the industry in a conference working toward the creation of a regional cinema and film exhibition network, seen as a necessary goal in reviving the national market.