Acclaimed Filmmaker Giorgi Shengelaia Dies Aged 82

Georgia’s cherished film director and Rustaveli Prize Laureate Giorgi Shengelaia has passed away at the age of 82.

Born on May 11, 1937, Shengelaia graduated from the Directing Faculty of the Union Cinematography Institute. From 1962 he worked at the Georgian Film Studio.

Shengelaia comes from a family of filmmakers. His older brother Eldar Shengelaia directed some of the best classics of Georgian comedy; their father, Nikoloz Shengelaia, was the father of Georgian silent film; their mother, Nato Vachnadze, performed leading roles in many of Nikoloz’s films.

Shengelaia’s film ‘The Journey of A Young Composer’ took part in the 36th Berlin International Film Festival, winning the Silver Bear for Best Director.

Shengelaia has left us with some very distinctive works- His first film ‘Alaverdoba’ (1963) is an art drama that takes as its subject matter the novel of the same name by Guram Rcheulishvili; Shengelaia’s ‘Pirosmani’ (1969) is a biographical art-drama film about cherished Georgian primitivist painter Niko Pirosmani.

By Elene Dzebisashvili