Tinatin Kajrishvili’s ‘Citizen Saint’ named Georgia’s Oscar submission

Tinatin Kajrishvili’s black and white drama Citizen Saint about a statue of a saint that come to life in a mining town has been selected as Georgia’s submission for the Academy Awards.

Citizen Saint premiered at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and was recently nominated for best film at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

It marks the third feature from Kajrishvili, whose previous works Brides and Horizon premiered in Berlin in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

Filmed in the oppressive Chiatura mine complex in Georgia, Citizen Saint explores the harsh lives of the locals played by Georgian actors George Babluani, Levan Berikashvili, Mari Kitia, Gia Burdjanadze, Temiko Tchitchinadze, George Bochorishvili and Lia Abuladze as they cope with questions of faith when their saint enters their community.

Kajrishvili said, “Observing how far people can go in search of hope and miracles made me write the script. Unrealised expectations and fear of loss lead people to make extraordinary decisions. It’s an endless circle.”

In Georgian with English subtitles, the film is produced by Georgia’s Lasha Khalvashi of Studio Artizm and Tinatin Kajrishvili for Germini.

It is a coproduction with France’s Mandra Films and Bulgaria’s Chouchkov Brothers. Studio Artizm handles sales.

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