George_Ovashvili_Crop

Georgian film director George Ovashvili. (Photo posted on Facebook.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian film Corn Island won the top prize at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on Saturday.

According to Agence France Press, the film won among eleven other films.

Georgian director George Ovashvili is known for the film Gagma Napiri a few years ago, about the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict and the lives of people influenced by it.

Corn_Island_Crop

Corn Island is set on a small island on the Enguri river. (Photo posted on Facebook.)

That film has had a lot of feedback and received a number of awards, including the Norwegian Peace Film Award at Tromsø International Film Festival, Jury Award at Paris Cinema, New Director’s Showcase Award at Seattle International Film Festival, and the Fipresci Prize at Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Corn Island is a film about the relationship of humans with nature and is set on a small island on the Enguri river, which divides Georgia-controlled territory and the breakaway region Abkahzia.

The psychological drama is based on a screenplay by Georgian writer Nugzar Shataidze, which the director completed after latter died. Shataidze also wrote the screenplay for Gagma Napiri.


Corn Island film is in the Abkhazian language and the cast consists of Turkish and relatively unknown Georgian actors.

Well-known Georgian film critic Gogi Gvakharia congratulated the director.

“If I remember correctly, we haven’t received the main award on a such a level film festival for the last twenty years,” he wrote on his Facebook page, adding that he hasn’t seen the movie, but he still thinks the director’s success is particularly pleasant.

“George is a quite remarkable director in our film-world – hard-working, always interested in news and with a surprisingly modest personality. The success of such a man is particularly exciting.”

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival was started in 1946 and is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals.

Another Georgian director’s film was also shown at the festival: Levan Koghuashivli’s Shemtkhveviti Paemnebi, screened in the category Europe Now, which included ten movies made by young European directors.

Also a movie made by Rusudan Pirveli called Dzilis Gakvetilebi was screened at Karlovy Vary in the category Work in Progress.