Life Through Cinema Festival Opens
Life Through Cinema, the fifth Georgian film festival in London, was officially launched on 1 May at Terroirs wine bar near Trafalgar Square. This year, its remit comes from the centenary of the short-lived First Georgian Republic and there are a number of films, documentaries, and talks centered around this important milestone in Georgian history. The festival, which runs from 1 – 8 May, aims for a more holistic celebration of Georgian culture than film screenings on their own could provide: there are events focused on Georgian Polyphony, wine, and food courtesy of top chefs from Tbilisi restaurants Azarphesha and Poliphonia and vintners like John Wurdeman.
On display during the launch was a collection of Georgian cinema posters which have been curated by Nino Dzandzava from the Georgian National Archive. It comprises some 30 posters ranging from the years 1926 to 2000 that give a flavor of the history of the country’s film making from Soviet times to the tail end of Shevardnadze’s rule.
There are 15 films being screened at the festival, 10 of which are UK premieres. The program provides a similar comment on the past hundred years of Georgia’s history. ‘The Independence Chronicles 1918-1921’ shows newsreel footage to piece together a visual history of that turbulent but inspiring period and there are classics from perestroika like ‘Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story’ by veteran director Eldar Shengelaia, and ‘My English Grandfather’ by Nana Jordjadze. That sense of struggle for independence is also reflected in the pick of more recent films like ‘My Happy Family,’ ‘I Am Truly a Drop of Sun on Earth,’ and ‘Gospel of Anasyrma’ which focus on issues of female emancipation and LGBT rights.
All in all, the program promises to paint a vivid portrait of Georgian culture. Its fiercely independent spirit from history to the present day will be showcased and celebrated, but it also brings to the fore contemporary issues like the dissonance between the conservative old guard and the liberal youth as the country tries to adjust to changing social and political mores and getting the balance right between more social liberalization without an unacceptable loss of tradition.
If you’re in London before 8 May, pop into the Regent Street Cinema. I’m sure it will be worth it.
Life through cinema runs from 1 – 8 May at the Regent Street Cinema in London. It is supported by – among others – The British Georgian Society, The Embassy of Georgia to the United Kingdom, and Terroirs Wine Bar.
By Robert Edgar in London