Georgia’s Cinema Legacy Returned

Some of the most acclaimed films from Georgia’s cinema heritage are being returned to the country’s vaults from Russia in the latest phase of a historic process.

Original film rolls for Soviet-era features including the 1968 work An Unusual Exhibition and the 1975 romance drama Love at First Sight are being packaged to be transported from Russia’s archives to Tbilisi.

In total, rolls for 11 productions by prominent directors including Lana Gogoberidze, Nana Mtchedlidze and Tengiz Abuladze have been singled out from the Gosfilmofond state archives in Russia. The selection of films shot between 1960-1985 has been part of stage three of the process initiated four years ago. Within the 2014 agreement between Gosfilmofond and the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Georgia, 15 titles previously preserved at the major archival venue have already been returned to Georgia in the first two phases.

The next stage of the cooperation is expected to involve a return of rolls for 10 more films late this year.

To store the transported film rolls in Georgia, the Culture Ministry is working with French audio and visual professionals on a project for launching a modern cinema archive in the country.

By Shawn Wayne