WHAT DO WE SEE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SKY? (RAS VKHEDAVT, RODESAC CAS VUKUREBT?) World Cinema

After a seemingly predestined pair of romantic encounters, pharmacist Lisa and soccer player Giorgi arrange a date, but after a peculiar curse strikes the pair, each awakens with an altered appearance, leaving them unrecognizable to one another. A seedling, a rain gutter and even the wind attempt to communicate with them, but the two are ultimately left without resources. In this heightened state of awareness, amid the warm summer breeze and World Cup madness, the would-be lovers find themselves suddenly receptive to the small dramas and charged rhythms reverberating along the banks of the riverside city of Kutaisi. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Berlinale, this unique and profoundly charming sophomore feature from new voice in Georgian cinema Alexandre Koberidze enacts a quiet magic, crafting a contagious state of marveling at the wonders of existence. –Malin Kan