29/08/2024 - The new film by Rusudan Glurjidze recounts the tragic measures taken against the Georgian people in St Petersburg in 2006

A young Georgian man named Lado is involved in smuggling antique furniture from Georgia to Russia. Tired of his immaturity, Medea, Lado’s girlfriend, buys the apartment in St Petersburg’s historic centre for herself. It is being sold at a very low price because the apartment comes with its owner, Vadim Vadimich, an opinionated, old-fashioned character. At the time of the unlawful deportation of thousands of Georgians from Russia, Lado is caught and deported. The antique warehouse is raided, while Medea hides in a wardrobe.

This is the synopsis of The Antique [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rusudan Glurjidze
film profile], the second feature by Georgian director Rusudan Glurjidze, which is having its world premiere in the Giornate degli Autori at the Venice Film Festival, taking place from 28 August-7 September.

According to Rusudan Glurjidze, “The Antique illustrates the indiscriminate and cruel ways in which politics derail human lives. The story is set in modern-day St Petersburg during the illegal mass expulsions of Georgian migrants from Russia but was inspired by real events that caused great distress to my country and me, personally. The cruel deportation campaign that swept across Russia was aimed exclusively at Georgian citizens. It was the result of an abrupt worsening of already strained political relations between Russia and Georgia. In the first few days of this campaign, 2,680 Georgians were expelled from Russia. The operation was never officially declared as political retaliation. […] In today’s chaotic world, people are constantly moving from place to place. Some move in search of a better life and economic advantage, while others are forced to flee war and persecution. For some, migration is a matter of choice. For others, it is a matter of life and death.”

The director's previous film House of Others [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rusudan Glurjidze
interview: Salome Demuria
film profile] won the Grand Prix in the East of the West Competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and became Georgia’s candidate for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.

The Antique stars Salome Demuria, Sergey Dreiden and Vladimir Daushvili. The film was produced by Cinetech Film (Georgia), Whitepoint Digital (Finland), Basis Berlin Filmproduktion (Germany) and Cinetrain (Switzerland). The movie is sold internationally by MPM Premium (France).

Check out our exclusive clip and poster below: