2018 Georgian Contemporary Film Festival in US

2018 Georgian Contemporary Film Festival in US

Embassy of Georgia keeps introducing the US to Georgia’s ancient and modern, rich and vibrant cultural heritage. This time Embassy organized the Georgian Contemporary Film Showcase in Washington DC and Chicago IL.

Embassy partnered the Georgian National Film Center, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Batumi International Art-House Film Festival (BIAFF) and “Society for Arts” (Chicago) to present the Georgian Cinema Showcase at Polish Film Festival in America (PFFA) in Chicago on November 9–12, followed by a week-long Georgian Contemporary Film Festival in Washington DC on November 13–16 in partnership with DC-based George Washington, Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities.

The Festival presented Georgian contemporary Films: “Dede” — by Mariam Khatchvani, “Scary Mother”- by Ana Ururshadze, “Blind Dates” — by Levan Koghuashvili, “House of Others” — by Rusudan Glurjidze, “My Happy Family” — by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß, “No My Friend” — by Gio Mgeladze. Also, in addition the guests had an opportunity to see some classics: “Alaverdoba” by Giorgi Shengelaia and three short films from 60’s by Mikheil Kobakhidze — “Wedding”, “Umbrella” and “Musicians”.

Film screenings were followed by matching discussions with the film director Levan Koghuashvili; George Washington University Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies Director and Georgian Film specialist Dr. Peter Rollberg; Georgian National Film Center’s International Affairs Director Levan Lomjaria and Embassy Public Affairs Counselor Sofia Gegechkori.

Noteworthy, that Embassy of Georgia in the United States, in partnership with the Georgian National Film Center, holds monthly Georgian Embassy Movie Series with the aim to promote Georgian Cultural Heritage, notably Georgian Cinematography — which is one of the oldest, counting over 110 years, and has distinct character and immense artistic value.

In parallel, Georgia is motivated to attract major players from Hollywood film industry and make them interested in the country’s diverse filming locations and favorable conditions for making films in Georgia.

For this reason representatives from Enterprise Georgia, the first government institution in Georgia mandated to facilitate export and private sector development through a variety of financial and technical support mechanisms, recently visited Los Angeles and met vice presidents of major film producer companies like Disney Studios, ABC Studios, Cable Networks, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Paramount pictures, HBO and Universal pictures.

‘Film in Georgia’ program is a government initiative to stimulate the local film sector by offering favorable conditions for local and international filmmakers such as a cash rebate of 20–25 percent of expenses incurred in Georgia as a way of encouraging parties to film in Georgia and support the development of the local film industry.