17 Georgian films are returning to Georgia

With the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, along with the Georgian National Film Center, the process of returning Georgian cinematic heritage from the Russian film depository “Gosfilmofond” is ongoing.  At this stage, 17 Georgian films will be returned to Georgia, including a film that was long considered lost: Mikheil Kalatozishvili's first independent directorial work, “Their Kingdom” (“Mathi Samepo”), which is also the debut work of Georgia's first female director, Nutsa Gogoberidze.  The film utilizes unique archival footage.

The aforementioned films were shot in the period from 1926 to 1930. Due to their age, the original film materials are in a deplorable state, and this was precisely the priority when selecting the films. In the 1920s, approximately 200 feature and documentary films were created, while the Russian film depository stores only 54 films, some of which have already been brought back. All films were produced on the basis of “Sakhkinmretsvi” (“Tbilisi Film Studio” from 1938, “Georgian Film” from 1953).

The process of returning Georgian cinematic heritage to its homeland will continue in 2020 as well. Films from the 1920s will remain a priority, and upon the completion of this stage, the Georgian cinematic heritage of this period will be fully returned to its homeland.

 At this stage, the following 17 films will be brought to Georgia:

• “Their Kingdom” (1928) – Directors M. Kalatozishvili, N. Gogoberidze;
• “Khanuma” (1926); “Two Hunters” (1927); “Uprising in Guria” (1928) – Director Alexander Tsutsunava;
• “Gogi Ratiani” (1927); “Krazana” (1928); “The Communard's Pipe” – Director Kote Marjanishvili;
• “Bela” (1927) – Director Vladimir Barsky;
• “Giuli” (1927) – Director Nikoloz Shengelaia;
• “Ibrahim and Goderdzi” (“First and Last” – 1927); “Cloud Shelter” (“Meeting Life” – 1928) – Director Zakaria Berishvili;
• “Young Aviator” (1928) – Director Nikoloz Kakhidze;
• “Woman from the Market” (1928) – Director Giorgi Makarov;
• “Youth Triumphs” (1928) – Director Mikheil Gelovani;
• “My Grandmother” (1928 – old version) – Director Kote Mikaberidze;
• “Saba” (1929) – Director Mikheil Chiaureli;
• “Repentance” (1986) – Director Tengiz Abuladze;

It is noteworthy that the Cannes Film Festival has been requesting the screening of “Repentance” in the Cannes Classics section for 2 years, but due to the low quality of the copy available in Georgia, it was previously impossible to screen it. The return of this film from “Gosfilmofond” will allow us to screen it at the Cannes Film Festival. (The Cannes Classics section has existed since 2004 and offers festival guests old films by outstanding, legendary directors from around the world in order to rediscover these works once again. In 2019, Eldar Shengelaia and Tamaz Meliava's film “White Caravan” was screened in this section for the first time in 55 years).

The agreement on the complete return of the Georgian film archive preserved in “Gosfilmofond” to Georgia was signed in 2014. According to the document of historical significance, the State Film Fund of the Russian Federation – “Gosfilmofond” – will gradually transfer Georgian films shot from 1921 to 1991 and preserved in the fund's archive to Georgia. By this time, 51 films have already been returned to Georgia.

“Gosfilmofond” is among the top five largest film archives in the world, with its film collection housing up to 70,000 titles of motion pictures. The film depository preserves the originals of films created in the republics that were part of the former Soviet Union, including those created at the “Georgian Film” studio.