Georgian writer-director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s first feature film “Beginning” has won four top prizes: best film, best director, best screenplay and best actress at Spain’s San Sebastian International Film Festival’s 68th edition.
The Silver Shell for Best film and Best Director going to the debutant Dea Kulumbegashvili, the Silver Shell for Best Actress going to Ia Sukhitashvili and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay going both to Kulumbegashvili herself and to Rati Oneli, also co-producer and actor in the film.
The story is about a community of Jehovah’s Witnesses in an isolated village in Georgia. ‘’Yana, a young Jehovah’s Witness missionary, is in shock after angry locals burn down her place of worship during a service. Her husband David manages to obtain CCTV footage of the attack. But in the remote Georgian village where they are living with their young son, his search for justice triggers a chain of events that will find the family totally isolated and entirely at the mercy of the hostile local police’’ a synopsis for the film reads.
Kulumbegashvili, 34, hopes that her success will be an inspiration to other young directors. The film (130 minutes) features Ia Sukhitashvili, Oneli and Kakha Kintsurashvili as protagonists, with editing by Matthieu Taponier, producer Nicolas Jaar. The film is produced by First Picture, Zadig Films and O.F.A.
”Beginning” was shown as part of the Spanish festival’s official selection alongside Summer of 85 from acclaimed director François Ozon and Another Round from Thomas Vinterberg.
“Beginning” was set to premier at the Cannes Film Festival until it was cancelled due to the pandemic.
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Read the interview with Dea Kulumbegashvili here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dl_TrY842Y&feature=youtu.be
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