TBILISI-TBILISI European Film Showcase

A selection from Cannes’ prestigious Directors Fortnight, writer/director/film professor Levan Zakareishvili’s second film is a powerful, personal work, which turns an unforgiving narrative eye on the harsh realities of life on the streets of his native Tbilisi.

Among those struggling to survive is Dato, a hungry young filmmaker fleshing out ideas for his next project. As Dato witnesses the marketplace his city has become, he runs into his old film teacher, now reduced to selling margarine just to survive. Also scraping by is Nona, a mute girl whose parents were killed and who now must beg for food and medicine for her sick brother; and Tedo, a young pickpocket who aggressively takes on the challenges of life. These tales are skillfully interwoven to reveal the poverty, corruption and class divide of contemporary life in Georgia.

TBILISI-TBILISI is rough around the edges, but that is part of what makes it so effective. Some visuals are soft and muted, while others are grainy and flat. It is a varied, no-frills approach, which contributes to a gritty, sometimes bleak sense of realism. It also makes for on unforgettable cinematic experience.