Women’s rights in focus of 16th Tbilisi International Film Festival
By Salome Modebadze
Thursday, December 3
'Culture and audio-visual art are among the main tools for drawing public attention towards the current problems,' the Minister of Culture and Monument Protection Mikheil Giorgadze said at the opening of the 16th Tbilisi International Film Festival (TIFF) at the Amirani Cinema on November 30.
This year, the festival is focused on women’s rights and the development of gender democracy. Emphasizing the importance of the participation of women on every decision-making level, the Minister said the festival is a wonderful opportunity to promote this issue.
TIFF has become an undivided part of cultural life in Tbilisi, uniting Georgian and foreign cinema-goers to watch art house films at the Amirani and Rustaveli cinemas.
At the opening ceremony, the Vice Mayor of Tbilisi, Nina Khatiskatsi, stressed the importance of the festival for the cultural development of the country. She said this year’s focus on women’s rights and different social issues is among the main priorities of Georgia in general. However, none of the goals from the state agenda can be achieved without the role of art. “Culture is the exact direction that makes real changes visible,” Khatiskatsi said in her opening speech.
The color of the festival this year is lavender purple, which is a color of the international campaign against violence against women. All the discussions within the festival will be held around women rights, gender-based violence and the active role of women in society. This is why this year, public attention is being paid to a section called WomenEyes, showcasing feature-length movies directed by women. The Heinrich Boell Foundation, the Women’s Fund and the Women’s Information Center have contributed to a selection of the films in this section and further discussions as the organizations advocating women’s rights and gender equality in Georgia.
Levan Tutberidze’s film "Moira" opened the festival this Monday. The story of a family living along the Georgian coast shows how the lives of family members are connected with one another and how the decisions of one of them affect the fate of the others.
The most important part of Tbilisi international Film Festival is the competition, wherein a jury selects the best out of ten debut or second feature-length movies of European directors. This year, the chairman of the jury is the British director Martha Fiennes, director of a motion picture "Onegin" with the actors Liv Tyler and brother of the actor, Ralph Fiennes. The best motion picture will get a golden "Prometheus", while the best direction will be awarded a silver "Prometheus". This year special a “Prometheus” for the merit in the development of cinematography will be first given to the Georgian female director Lana Ghoghoberidze.
The traditional section "Georgian Panorama" will cover the most interesting Georgian movies of the last year promoting Georgian cinematographers and their works to a larger audience. The 16th TIFF will declared winners out of three nominations: best feature-length movie, best short-length movie, and best documentary.
The festival will be officially closed by Georgian director Dito Tsintsadze’s "God of Happiness" on December 5; however, some films will also be screened the following day.
For detailed information about the festival, please, visit www.tbilisifilmfestival.ge. Tickets are available in the cinemas themselves, as well as at www.kinoafisha.ge.
