Zaza Urushadze Dies at 54

Georgia grieves Zaza Urushadze, the renowned Georgian filmmaker who died yesterday, on December 7, at the age of 54. Urushadze’s credits include the Oscar-nominated drama Tangerines, nominated for the Academy Awards in 2015.

Urushadze was one of the country’s most prominent filmmakers, critically acclaimed for his works in the contemporary film industry.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has reported that an investigation is underway under Article 115 (Bringing to the Point of Suicide) of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Urushadze was born in Tbilisi in 1965. He was first featured in 1998’s Here Comes The Dawn. The movie played international festivals and was even submitted by the country to the Oscar’s, though no nomination followed.

In 2013, Georgia’s beloved film director came back with his most renowned work, Tangerines. The movie premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival, immediately becoming a hit. 'Tangerines was eventually nominated for the Oscars in 2015, which further led to its acquisition for US distribution by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Urushadze directed two cinematographic works after that: the 2017 drama The Confession (played at numerous festivals including Chicago and Busan), and the 2019 drama Anton, that has not premiered yet.

By Nini Dakhundaridze

Image source: zimbio.com