A magical, folkloric tale about a mountain village in Georgia on the eve of the revolution. The film focuses on a girl forced by the villagers to marry a man she does not love. Episodes of pure but forbidden love and the blind convictions of the elders are interwoven into a poetic narrative of the colourful life of the village and the tragic consequences of the community's quarrels. The Wishing Tree won the Special Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and is still considered one of the most outstanding Soviet-era films in the history of Georgian cinema. The film was stored in the Lithuanian Film Base and, after its liquidation, was transferred to the Lithuanian archive. On the initiative of the Film Institute of Georgia, the film has been digitised and will be presented to Scanorama audiences.

Tengiz Abuladze

Tengiz Abuladze

Tengiz Abuladze (1924-1994) graduated in theatre directing from the Rustaveli Theatre Institute in Tbilisi and in film directing from the Cinematography Institute in Moscow. He won his first award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for the film Magdana's Donkey. Abuladze is best known for his trilogy The Plea (1967), The Wishing Tree (1976) and Repentance (1984). The trilogy philosophically reflects on good and evil, love and hate. The satire Repentance, despite its open criticism of Stalinist terror, was a great success in the Soviet Union and was shown abroad. Abuladze's work was influenced by Georgian folklore; his films are characterised by a poetic structure and the form of a philosophical parable.
Languages
Georgian, Russian
Subtitles
English, Lithuanian
Original title
Natvris khe
Produced
1976: Georgia

Film information

Director
Tengiz Abuladze
Producers
Rezo Kveselava, Nino Natroshvili
Screenplay
Tengiz Abuladze, Revaz Inanishvili, Giorgi Leonidze
Music
Jakob Bobokhidze, Bidzina Kvernadze
Cinematography
Lomer Akhvlediani
Cast
Iosif Jachvliani, Lika Kavzharadze, Zaza Kolelishvili, Kote Daushvili, Sofiko Chiaureli
More information
www.imdb.com

Screenings

Sunday, 10 November

18:00

Skalvija · Hall 1

Past screening

Thursday, 14 November

16:00

Forum Cinemas Vingis · 9

Past screening

Friday, 15 November

16:30

Forum Cinemas Kaune · 5

Past screening

Sunday, 17 November

18:00

Arlekinas · Hall 1

Past screening

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