Cinema from Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, Moldova and Azerbaijan at Bozar: Bridges East of West

For its second edition, Bridges has grown in size and is showing fifteen films over 5 days, in the presence of the directors. Georgia and Ukraine shared the first edition; this year Armenia and Belarus make their entrance with some truly beautiful productions.

Armenia, which experienced its own velvet revolution last June, will bring stronger cinematic value to this year’s programme. After the Cinémathèque Française, the Golden Apricot Film Festival and The Eye in Amsterdam, David Safarian will be with us to present “Hot Country/Cold Winter”. And an evening of short films will be devoted to the young generation of filmmakers who are divided between poetry and political activism.

Belarusian cinema, which is beginning to make a name for itself on the international scene, will be represented with two films directed by women. “Crystal Swan” by Darya Zhuk, which opened the Karlovy Vary Festival and which will represent Belarus at the next Oscars, is all about a young, energetic DJ who is looking to flee the post-Soviet Belarus of the 1990s for the United States. In a different style, “Tomorrow” by Yulia Shatun, honoured at the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film (FID), follows a teacher from a small, snow-covered provincial town as he is confronted with the harsh reality of unemployment.

Ukraine and Georgia continue to be well represented, with two and three films respectively: Ukraine, with its militant cinema and Georgia with its more reflective  film industry focused more on family and traditions. For Ukraine, we highlight “When The Trees Fall”, the debut film of director Marysia Nikitiuk. The film was presented during the Panorama of the Berlinale and shows landscapes of the Ukrainian countryside, as well as the inner world of the heroine.

We also have “Volcano”, Roman Bondarchuk’s latest film which follows an NGO worker lost in the middle of the steppes in the far south of Ukraine, who finds himself confronted with the bizarre behaviour of its inhabitants. And « Delta » by Oleksandr Techynsky, immersive documentary about the life around the Delta of the Danube. 

Georgia will showcase Zaza Khalvashi’s film “Namme” –  cinematic ode to ancestral traditions nurtured by the beauty of the Georgian countryside. Younger female director, Elene Neveriani will be present with her feature debut “I am truly a drop of Sun on Earth” – black & white balade about outcasts of Georgian society – those being in city shadows misery. Director will be in presence open to speak about political and human issues raised in her film – tolerance, migration and hope.

Great filmmakers like Sergei Paradjanov, Artavazd Pelechian, Otar Iosseliani, Lana Gogoberidze, Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Kira Muratova and Rouben Mamoulian came to light in these regions during the Soviet era, producing many cinematic treasures which remain absolutely unmissable works for all film buffs. This is why, in this second edition, BOZAR introduces a “cinematic return” to the past. Bridges opens with “My Grandmother” (1929) by Kote Mikaberidze, a phantasmagorical satire of Soviet bureaucracy. The screening will have a live accompaniment by two Georgian musicians.

Paradjanov’s short “Hakob Hovnatanyan” will be screened in its restored version. “Asthenic Syndrome” (1989) by Kira Muratova, Silver Bear in Berlin in 1990, is considered to be the “first post-Soviet film”. The talents of Muratova, who died last june, were recognised at European festivals at the end of Perestroika: in 1990, she was a member of the jury at the Venice Mostra, and in 1994 she was awarded the Leopard of Honour at the Locarno Film Festival. Bridges will have the honor to welcome highly acclaimed director, Lana Ghoghoberidze to present her film from 1978 titled “Several Interviews junion Personal Matters”.

It is is one of the first films to refer to Stalin’s labour camps and to show what life was like for women during the communist era. Having her films selected at Cannes Film Festival and pursuing extraordinary career both in cinema and Georgia politics, Lana will speak to audiences about her artistic experiences, 3 generations of female talent in her family and what it is to be a woman in Georgia.

Women largely dominate the scene, be it in repertoire films, with Georgia and Ukraine and their long tradition of female filmmakers, or through the young generation which is getting involved, camera in hand, to denounce the shortcomings of their country and the weight of tradition in order to portray their changing countries.

The film industry of these countries, turning towards Europe, is experiencing a renaissance! This political, aesthetic cinema with its own particular mood, can be discovered on the screens of BOZAR for six days, in the presence of the directors. Change of scenery guaranteed.

Bridges Industry Day

17.01.2019

As a new pillar, Bridges will host unique event titled Bridges Industry Day dedicated to better understanding of cooperation prospects and production patterns in countries on Europe’s eastern bridge. The event will be conceived in a Panel Discussion format bringing together key production professionals from various countries covered by the Festival.

For its first edition panel discussion will focus on producers/film executives from Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus and Armenia. It will also include European producers with solid experience of working on co-productions in relevant territories. Via animated discussion, professionals will discover how national producers operate in their own territories, what are margins of financial contributions when devising co-productions; which internationally known films have been shot in concerned territories – its strengths and weaknesses.