25/11/2014 - The film festival in the Georgian capital is about to begin

The 15^th Tbilisi International Film Festival in Georgia will take place from 1-7 December. As usual, it will present the best arthouse cinema works of the past year and will offer numerous events for film-industry professionals. The festival will open with a screening of The President [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
film profile], in the presence of acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

This year, the jury is chaired by producer and former director of the Venice and Rome International Film Festivals Marco Müller. He will judge the films alongside director Peter Webber (Girl with a Pearl Earring [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Lithuanian actress Severija Janusauskaite, Iran’s Reza Mirkarimi and writer Nana Ekvtimishvili (In Bloom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simo…
film profile]).

Two Georgian films have been selected in official competition, reflecting the impressive development of the national film industry in recent years. Salome Alexi will present Line of Credit [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and the competition’s youngest participant, Lasha Tskvitinidze, will unveil his feature debut, I am Beso [+see also:
film review
film profile], which has already been shown at various international festivals. Also in competition is Party Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marie Amachoukeli, Claire B…
film profile], winner of the Caméra d'Or at Cannes this year, and co-directed by French director of Georgian heritage Marie Amachoukeli together with Claire Burger and Samuel Theis.

The Forum of European Cinema, which is the most popular section of the festival, will offer the most significant works of the year: Winter Sleep [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
film profile], which won the Palme d'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], also an award winner at Cannes, François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile] and Bertrand Bonello’s Saint-Laurent [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Bertrand Bonello
film profile]. A tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in February, is also on the menu.

The festival will remain true to tradition in its 15th incarnation by devoting a part of the programme to a selected sensitive social issue in Georgia. This year’s subject, represented by the colour green, will be responsible city planning and the environmental problems that arise through urbanisation. The “Green Is the Colour” section will offer six films in an attempt to raise awareness of the issue.

Alongside this, many activities will be organised for film-industry professionals. This year, the main event will be the Tbilisi Industry Days, which will devote three days to sessions on co-production and filming in Georgia. Various masterclasses will be held by leading industry figures such as Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Webber and Goran Paskaljević. The festival will come to a close with the acclaimed film Still Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Uberto Pasolini
film profile] by Uberto Pasolini, who will be present at the screening and will speak to the audience.

(Translated from French)