Ana Urushadze’s Scary Mother Named among Films of 2018 to Watch

Young Georgian filmmaker Ana Urushadze’s film ‘Scary Mother’ has been included on the list of recommended films to watch in 2018 by Calvert journal.

In the article by Carmen Gray, ‘Films of 2018: The ‘New East’ Cinema You Need to See this Year’ featured Urushadze’s Scary Mother, alongside other films such as Malgorzata Szumovska (Mug); Estonian film director Lauri Lagle’s ‘Portugal,’ Russian Alexey German Jr’s film ‘Dovlatov,’ and Jan Svankmajer’s ‘Insect’ (Czech Republic).

“The current buzz surrounding Georgia’s national cinema is set to continue in 2018, with Director Ana Urushadze’s widely imaginative and surrealistic debut feature Scary Mother among the delights to watch for,” the article reads, noting the many awards the film has received, from Locarno’s Golden Leopard in the category of the Best First Feature, to winning the Sarajevo Film Festival Award for Best Feature film, and Best Director award at Gijon, Spain. Georgian actress Nata Murvanidze, who plays the leading role in the film, won an Asia Pacific Screen Award for best performance.

“It challenges traditional gender roles with dark, playful humor; focusing on writer Manana (Nato Murvanidze), who has penned an erotic vampire novel, and is determined to get it published-despite opposition from her husband, who regards her imaginings as a personal affront,” the article reads. “Just being in the moment and giving 100% attention to each scene is the only rule for me when filming. The best days of my life are when I'm shooting,” - Ana Urushadze is quoted in the article.

Nino Gugunishvili