PÖFF 2024 spotlights Georgian independent cinema

The 28th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will present a tribute programme to Georgia's independent filmmakers, who stand for a free society and democratic values. The 5-part programme opens with the world premiere of Irine Jordania's Air Blue Silk. Among other films, 96-year-old Lana Gogoberidze will present her film Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete.

Dedicated to the work of filmmakers protesting against restrictions on freedom of expression, the programme is entitled Flowers Are Not Silent. Independent Voices from Georgia: A Spotlight on Georgian Cinema.
The programme will be screened in cooperation with the Georgian Film Institute. Founded in 2019 by a collective of visionary filmmakers who recognized the imperative of establishing the Georgian Film Institute, this non-profit organization operates on the bedrock of independent governance. Its objectives and values are meticulously crafted by the filmmakers themselves. 

According to PÖFF founder and director Tiina Lokk, PÖFF stands always with the independent filmmakers. "It's not just dictator countries like Belarus that are trying to muzzle their filmmakers - the ambition of politicians in power to control who makes films and what they are about is increasingly evident elsewhere. It is our duty to draw attention to this and to support all filmmakers who stand up for their independence." she said.

Read more about the Spotlight programme and the Georgian independent cinema here. 

The spotlight programme kicks off with the world premiere of Air Blue Silk, directed by Irene Jordania. The film includes diverse components where documentary material is integrated into a fiction form.
Deeply shaken, Eka isolates herself when her aunt, who often calls for one-way chats via voicemail, commits suicide abroad. Niko builds an AI ‘friend’ immersing himself in his apartment. These two worlds touch briefly, only to pull apart into self-imposed loneliness.

"The relationship among humans as well as the relationship of humans with the external world is whole and unified, encompassing both pain and joy, and we must face it. Isolation beyond dividing lines is not a solution, as everything and everyone is interconnected. While working on the film, for me as the director, the most interesting and main challenge was how to weave all these components into a single cohesive fabric of the film," said Jordania. 

"It is a pleasure to host emerging and independent contemporary Georgian filmmakers, whose films address issues that affect us all  in the modern world. For us, it's important to show those new cinematic voices to the world, and we're  proud to open this year's very special spotlight with this particular film," added Tiina Lokk. 

A highlight of the Spotlight programme is a Q&A screening of Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete, presented by the 96-year old renowned Georgian director, Lana Gogoberidze. The film is a tender and heartfelt tribute to her mother, Nutsa Gogoberidze, whose 1934 film Uzhmuri was the first feature film directed by a woman in the entire Soviet Union and who was sent to Siberia as the wife of an enemy of the people.

In the festival's Old Gold: Classic Films Come To Life programme, Gogoberidze will also present her 1978's film Some Interviews On Personal Matters. The film is considered one of the first truly feminist films in the Soviet Union.


Programme details: 

Air Blue Silk, 2024, Georgia;
director: Irene Jordania. World premiere.

Blueberry Dreams, 2024, Georgia;
director: Elene Mikaberidze. 

Holy Electricity, 2024, Georgia, Netherlands;
director: Tato Kotetishvili. 

In The Name Of Blood, 2024, France, Belgium, Georgia;
director: Akaki Popkhadze. 

Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete, 2024, Georgia, France; 
director: Lana Gogoberidze



Georgian retrospectives:

Some Interviews in Personal Matters, 1978
Director: Lana Gogoberidze

Repentance, 1987
Director: Tengiz Abuladze

The 28th edition of PÖFF l will take place from the 8th until the 24th of November, while the festival’s industry platform Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event will run from 14th until the 22nd of November. 
The opening ceremony take place on the 8th of November at Alexela Concert Hall. The festival opening film is Long Story Short, directed by David Dietl. The Closing Ceremony starts at 19:00 at the Alexela Concert Hall in Tallinn. The ceremony will be streamed online at poff.elisastage.ee.

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival with Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and with the two sub-festivals, Just Film and PÖFF Shorts, has grown into one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe and the busiest regional industry platforms.

Air Blue Silk. Photo: film still

Air Blue Silk. Photo: film still

Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete. Photo: film still

Some Interviews on Personal Matters. Photo: film still