After Mikheil Saakashvili was appointed a counselor of the President Petro Poroshenko, friendship between Georgia and Ukraine got political connotations; and Docudays UA non-competition program Georgia effect, which covers today’s situation in the country, turned into a must-see.
However, history of the program Georgia Effect started already in October 2014. Then, the organizers of The International Documentary Film Festival CineDoc-Тbilisi decided to express their support for changes in our country, and prepared a special program Ukrainian Voices. Besides, Darya Bassel, the Docudays UA program coordinator, has been invited to Tbilisi as a jury member. While getting acquainted with the competition works she took the opportunity of choosing the best of the best of Georgian documentary out of which the program Georgia Effect was formed.
‘What effect have we expected from the films about Georgia? We yielded to general euphoria – Georgia attracted. Their ambition to build a European state and their success excited admiration and desire to adhere. But in the process of films selection Georgia appeared to have not less sensitive issues than we do,’ – shares her impressions Darya.
Georgia Effect selection includes three films which cover facts that are never mentioned in pathetic articles about legendary hospitality and eternal beauty of the Caucasus. For example, it has never been mentioned that while in Ukraine we have a Leninfall, tempers has run high about Stalin in a small Georgian village. A local convent wants to occupy a public yard. This means that a forgotten monument to the Vozhd’ (the Leader) of the empire, which vanished long ago, is to be removed. Thus, the forgotten Koba seems to return from oblivion. The monument regains the long ago lost hand and the old women from the village passionately recollect the times when they were young and in love with the Vozhd’. The film The Ruler directed by Shalva Shengeli depicts possible threats of the past covered with bright colors of agitation myths.
Film directors Nino Orjonikidze and Vano Arsenishvili turned their attention to contemporary Georgia province in the film The English Teacher. In the crosshairs of their camera was a ‘linguistic revolution’, initiated by the government of Georgia. In order to get rid of the Soviet legacy as quickly as possible and to engage with the western world, government invites English speakers to ‘civilize’ local population. Following an idea, which sounds good, a young and enthusiastic English teacher from the RSA comes to a remote Georgian village. There he finds out that government and population exist in parallel worlds and a common ground between them can hardly be found, even by means of the universal English language.
Not by accident the program was named after the third film – The Domino Effect directed by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski. This picture is probably the most challenging for the present situation in Ukraine. It covers a separate chapter in the complicated history of Georgia – current realities of the Republic of Abkhazia, Russia’s independent hostage. Main characters of the film – the sports minister of Abkhazia and his young wife from Russia. To prop up the prestige of his country, he decides to organize the world championships in dominoes, whereas in his private life passions run high. Documenting them, directors strangely note reasons and consequences of political circumstances under which that controversial state found itself at the moment.
