One of the most interesting cultural phenomena of the Soviet era is Georgian cinema. The small republic had terrific success in the field of cinema: its directors were awarded at the Cannes Festival twice. A “VK” correspondent asked prize winner Shota Rustaveli and Merab Kokochashvili, director and People’s Artist of Georgia, to comment on the past success of Georgia's filmmaking industry and its prospects.
- There has been a great number of distinguished directors in Georgia in the past century: Rezo Tscheidze, Tengiz Abuladze, Otar Ioseliani… Another factor that contributed to this cultural phenomenon was the authoritarian regime, paradoxical as it may sound. The regime oppressed the artist, but strong personalities were forced by their talent to find their own unique ways to express their opinions and views. And another factor is that they introduced national motifs to their films – which also reflected their free-minded spirit, opposed to the collectivist ideology. Of course, typical Soviet bureaucrats administrated the Georgian filmmaking industry, but they were also Georgian patriots, they wanted Georgian art to be special.
- What are the main stages of Georgian cinema development? What films started new trends in Georgian cinema?
- We should go back to the 20s, that was the time when the artistic foundations of Georgian cinema appeared. It was a time when Nicoloz Shengel, Mikhail Kalatozishvili, Kote Mikaberidze and Mikhail Chiaureli created their films. These traditions were revived in late 1950s. Later, Nana Mchedlidze and Irakly Quirikadze started their careers.
As for the films, I would name “The Eccentrics” of Eldar Shengel – the one that started the Aesopian language style in our cinema, the films of Otar Ioseliany, “The Prayer” of Tenguiz Abduladze, and later – his “Repentence”, “The Blue Mountains” also by Eldar Shangel and some others.
- And what is the state of Georgian film industry now? Are there any new interesting works?
- Before the 1990s Georgian cinema was developing according to certain principles and the common atmosphere of the whole USSR. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union our cinema became a part of the world cinema industry. It was a new system for us. Georgia is a small country, with a population of only 4.5 million people. That is why it is impossible for us to create self-financing cinema products. We need integration into the global system of cinema industry, and it is a very difficult objective, considering sharp competition and other factors. I mean shifting to a different system of production. However, some steps have already been made. For example, we use the French model of cinema support. There is a special law, according to which, the state establish certain guarantees, allocate certain financial support, while private investors have complete freedom. A small country has to attract investments from all over the world, if we want to preserve and develop our cinema. We are undergoing a difficult process of transformation. The state spends not much, and investors are not eager to invest, as they are not sure in success of projects. Great cinema demands great money. Thus, the process is slow. Nevertheless, we have interesting works of young directors. We hope in several years the Georgian cinema would be integrated into the world cinema industry.
The movie “13” by Gela Babluani is an interesting work, but this movie was created not in Georgia, but in France and the US. I would say it is a non-Georgian movie created by a Georgian director. As for genre movies created in Georgia, first of all, I would call “Season” by David Borchkhadze. It is only a first step.
I cannot help but say about festivals. When in Cannas “Repentance” by Abuladze or “Lurdja Magdany” by Rezo Chkheidze gained success, it was a great event for the Georgian cinema. Today we can see only first marks of revival. Fortunately, we have the main thing – the school. Only due to it revival of the Georgian cinema is possible.
Interview by Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi
