Film Course: Spotlight on Georgian Cinema

Mondays, September 29–October 27, 1:10–3:40 p.m.

Lecture presentations moderated by BAM/PFA Senior Film Curator Susan Oxtoby

Susan Oxtoby visited archives and festivals in Tbilisi, Moscow, Berlin, Amsterdam, Toulouse, and Bologna over the past three years to research and prepare Discovering Georgian Cinema, the largest retrospective of Georgian cinema ever mounted in North America. We are excited to offer this five-week course in conjunction with the series, giving you the opportunity to view 35mm archival prints and learn more about Georgian history, geography, and culture, as well as the stylistic traditions of Georgian cinema, from leading authorities.

Registration required. Course registration is $145 for BAM/PFA members. Not a member? Join today and enjoy a full year of benefits, including discounted tickets to screenings at the PFA Theater.

Monday, September 29, 2014
1:10 p.m. Journey of Akaki Tsereteli to Racha and Lechkhumi & Salt for Svanetia
BAM/PFA Senior Film Curator Susan Oxtoby provides a brief introduction to this five-week film course. Nana Janelidze, director of the Georgian National Film Center, then talks about her role in preserving an early treasure of Georgian national cinema, Journey of Akaki Tsereteli to Racha and Lechkhumi (1912), which depicts the legendary poet Akaki Tsereteli’s journey to the mountainous areas of Western Georgia. Followed by Mikhail Kalatozov’s classic Salt for Svanetia (1930), a haunting portrait of the difficult life in a village in the Caucasus cut off by snows from the outside world for most of the year. Session one of a five-session course. Course registration required.

Monday, October 6, 2014
1:10 p.m. Pirosmani
Susan Oxtoby lectures on “Cinema and the Arts in Georgia,” followed by a screening of Pirosmani, a poetic biography of the great Georgian primitive artist Nikoloz (Niko) Pirosmanishvili. This delicately expressive film received its North American premiere at BAM/PFA in 1974 and then went on to win the Grand Prize at the Chicago Film Festival and garner international critical acclaim. Session two of a five-session course. Course registration required.

Monday, October 13, 2014
1:10 p.m. Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird
Peter Rollberg, professor of Slavic languages, film studies, and international affairs at George Washington University, lectures on “The Poetics of Georgian Cinema.” Followed by The Singing Blackbird (Otar Iosseliani, 1971), a wry comedy, set in Tbilisi, about a young musician who is perpetually in a hurry and late for every appointment because his life is so full of chance encounters. Session three of a five-session course. Course registration required.

Monday, October 20, 2014
1:10 p.m. The Wishing Tree
Nino Dzandzava, of National Archives of Georgia, discusses challenges facing film archivists before a screening of The Wishing Tree (Tengiz Abuladze, 1977). The Wishing Tree is an episodic pastorale set in a pre-Revolutionary Georgian village that spans four seasons in the lives of various village characters. Some twenty-two stories are woven into the narrative, which centers on a beautiful young woman who is forced to marry a man she does not love. Session four of a five-session course. Course registration required.

Monday, October 27, 2014
1:10 p.m. Course Wrap-Up and Selected Highlights
For our final meeting, the Trio Kavkasia (Carl Linich, Alan Gasser, Stuart Gelzer) offers a demonstration of Georgian polyphonic music and Carl Linich will speak about characteristics of traditional folk songs. Susan Oxtoby wraps up the course with a talk illustrated with film clips. Session five of a five-session course. Course registration required.