Beginning

Dasatskisi

61st TIFF: Greek premiere

Yana, a woman devoured by doubts, and her husband are Jehovah’s Witness preachers, in a remote village of ultra-Orthodox Georgia. When a religious hatred attack sets the community’s worship place on fire, followed by a charade of an investigation by the police, Yana becomes fixated on a quest for justice. Shot on mesmerizing 35mm, this harrowing portrait of sorrow explores the notions of sin and free will, constantly challenging the redetermined definitions of good and evil.

 

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Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.


Direction: Dea Kulumbegashvili
Script: Dea Kulumbegashvili, Rati Oneli
Cinematography: Arseni Khachaturan
Sound: Séverin Favriau, Tengo Mandzulashvili, Stéphane Thiebaud
Music: Nicolas Jaar
Actors: Ia Sukhitashvili, Rati Oneli, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Saba Gogichaishvili
Production: First Picture, Office of film Architecture, Zadig Films
Producers: Ilan Amouyal, David Zerat, Rati Oneli, Paul Rozenberg
Co-producers: Steven Darty, Adrien Dassault
Sets: Guram Navrozashvili
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Georgia, France
Production Year: 2020
Duration: 125΄
Contact: Wild Bunch
Awards/Distinctions: Golden Seashell for Best Film, Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, Silver Seashell for Best Director, Best Actress – San Sebastián IFF

Dea Kulumbegashvili

Dea Kulumbegashvili is a Tbilisi-based Georgian writer/director. Her debut short film Invisible Spaces was nominated for Short Film Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, in 2014. Her second short film, Léthé, premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight selection and was screened in dozens of other festivals around the world. Her debut feature, Beginning, traveled to Cannes, San Sebastián and Toronto.

Filmography

2014 Invisible Spaces (short)
2020 Beginning