Tbilisi International Film Festival in focus
By Salome Modebadze
Monday, December 8
This is the 15th year of Tbilisi International Film Festival (TIFF). It has become an important cultural event not only in Georgia but in the region and the rest of the world. The festival offers cinema-goers a wide selection of art-house films every year.
Gaga Chkheidze, General Director of TIFF said the festival is taking steps forward each year.
“The films we offer are different from the films people watch at the cinema. These are art house films of high quality,” Chkheidze said, adding that the main direction of TIFF is European cinematography.
Chkheidze said interest towards Georgia as a country has increased and the number of international guests proves that.
Apart from the usual screenings, TIFF offers a variety of master classes, workshops and conferences to young film-makers. The foreign directors, producers and scriptwriters who attend the festival often invite their Georgian colleagues to their countries.
“I would say TIFF has opened a door to the rest of the world to Georgian film-makers and directors,” Chkheidze said, adding that Georgia is more integrated with the European processes today more than ever.
This year’s TIFF was held under the patronage of Georgia’s First Lady Maka Chichua. An actress herself, she welcomed all the guests to the festival.
“I am happy that this festival has 15 years of history; it is becoming bigger each year. This year we have been offered more interesting films both from our Georgian and foreign film-makers,” Chichua said.
