email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

PRODUCTION Georgia / Germany / France

George Ovashvili returns to Karlovy Vary with Khibula

by 

- The Georgian filmmaker is bringing a follow-up to his 2014 Crystal Globe winner Corn Island to the Czech gathering

George Ovashvili returns to Karlovy Vary with Khibula
Hossein Mahjoub in Khibula

Georgian director George Ovashvili is set to return to the International Competition at Karlovy Vary (30 June-8 July) with his third feature, Khibula [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: George Ovashvili
film profile
]
. The filmmaker's previous movies include The Other Bank [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, one of the first films from the territory after the breakdown of the Soviet Union to get international attention, having premiered at the Berlinale in 2009 and later winning some 50 festival awards; and Corn Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: George Ovashvili
film profile
]
, which earned him the main award at KVIFF, the Crystal Globe, in 2014, and a spot on the Oscar shortlist for Best Foreign-language Film. 

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Khibula tells the story of the last days of a president – played by Iranian actor Hossein Mahjoub – whose death in the Caucasus Mountains is full of mystery. The official synopsis reads: a man elected by his people to become the head of a newly independent country gets ousted by a coup d’état shortly after. He flees into the mountains, where loyal troops are rumoured to be waiting for him. He plans to meet them and come back from his exile to regain his power. Full of hope, he follows his guardians into the mountains, in order to regroup with his true followers and get back to the long-gone glory days again. But the journey turns out to be a restless one, between trust and distrust, between hope and despair. His dreams blend with reality as his feelings of insecurity grow. Finally, he has to accept his fate. 

The screenplay was co-penned by Ovashvili and Dutch writer Roelof Jan Minneboo, who also worked with the director on Corn Island. Composer Iosif Bardanashvili and Korean editor Sun-min Kim are back on the director's team for the third time, and Baaria [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
DoP Enrico Lucidi shot the film. 

Khibula is a production by Georgia's Alamdary Films, in co-production with Germany's 42film, France's Arizona Productions and ZDF/ARTE. The international rights are handled by Berlin-based Pluto Film

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy