Germany, Switzerland, Georgia/ 2021/ 87′
DIRECTED BY: Salomé Jashi
SCREENPLAY BY: Salomé Jashi
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Salomé Jashi, Goga Devdariani
EDITED BY: Chris Wright
PRODUCERS: Vadim Jendreyko, Erik Winker, Martin Roelly, Salomé Jashi
PRODUCED BY: Mira Film, Sakdoc Film, CORSO Film
FESTIVALS & AWARDS: Cinéma du Réel 2021 – Young Jury Award – Mention; Docudays UA International Documentary Human Rights Film Festival 2021 – DOCU/WORLD Best Film; FICUNAM Festival International de Cine UNAM 2021 – Public Award, Puma Award; Sundance Film Festival 2021; Berlin International Film Festival 2021; Hot Docs 2021; Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2021; Hong Kong International Film Festival 2021.
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An anonymous powerful man has developed an unusual hobby. He buys century-old trees, some as tall as 15-story buildings, from communities along the Georgian coast and has them excavated to collect them for his private garden. In order to transplant trees of such dimensions, the landscape surrounding them is ripped apart and the people living around them are forced to adapt to the disruption. As the film follows this process, it portrays the needs and values of today’s Georgian society and reflects on the theme of forced migration, where “uprooting” is more than a metaphor.
Salomé Jashi was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1981. She studied journalism and worked as a reporter for several years. In 2005 she was awarded a British Council scholarship to study documentary filmmaking at Royal Holloway, University of London. Salomé’s The Dazzling Light of Sunset (2016) was awarded several festivals. Her earlier work, Bakhmaro (2011) was awarded at DOK Leipzig, and Jihlava IDFF. Salomé is the founder and works through two production companies: Sakdoc Film and Microcosmos. She was a fellow of Nipkow Scholarship in 2017 and DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in 2020.