Georgian Films to Be Screened at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

This year, the Independence Day of Georgia, marked on May 26, is to be celebrated across the country, as well as beyond its borders. On May 23-26, the visitors of Boston Museum of Fine Arts (mfa) will have a chance to explore the Georgian contemporary cinematography and thus become acquainted with the country’s culture through the set of selected Georgian films, which will be screened at the Museum under the ‘New Wave Now: Georgia’s Independent Voice’ series.

The list of the films includes: ‘My Happy Family’, an award-winning work of Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simons Gross, ‘The Confession’, directed by Academy Awards-nominated Zaza Urushadze, as well as ‘Khibula’, filmed by George Ovashvili and ‘The Chair’, the satirical film of Prominent Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia.

All of the selected works, are distinguished with their concepts and thought-provoking messages. In these features, the filmmakers have represented the most essential issues, including the juxtaposition of an individual and the stereotype-based system in ‘My Happy Family’, where the ‘system’ is introduced through the family of the female protagonist, as well as the bureaucratic satire in ‘The Chair’.

Along with the films of Georgian directors, the screening of Emily Railsback’s documentary ‘Our Blood is Wine’ is also scheduled within the framework of the project. The American director has dedicated her work to the exploration of the rebirth of 8,000-year-old winemaking traditions almost lost during the period of Soviet rule. The show of the film is to be followed by a discussion with director Emily Railsback and Jeremy Quinn, the award-winning sommelier, who has also worked on the feature.

“[Under the Soviet regime] Georgian cinema maintained a distinct and rich identity within the USSR, technically and aesthetically experimental and also willing to critique power. When independence came again in 1991, the Georgian film community was ready to seize their newfound freedoms,” reads the preview of the organizers.

These “country’s distinctive cinematic voices” explore Georgia’s society, landscape, history and power structures.

The projects is co-presented with Ballets Russes Arts Initiative and supported by the Embassy of Georgia to the United States and the Georgian National Film Center.

More information is available at: New Wave Now: Georgia’s Independent Voice

By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya

Image source: mfa.org