The winners of the new Georgian national Eliso Awards, established by London-based actress Natalia Jugheli through the Nato Vachnadze Foundation, named after her great-grandmother, a pioneering actress of Georgian cinema, were revealed on 14 June in Gurjaani. Eliso is a 1928 silent film directed by Vachnadze’s husband, Nikoloz Shengelaia.

The awards, each worth circa €1,630 (5,000 lari), were given out in three categories. Last year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight hit Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry [+lee también:
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ficha de la película].

“The Nato Vachnadze Foundation’s first project, the Eliso Awards, is a love letter to Nato’s husband, Nikoloz Shengelaia, and at the same time, it celebrates sisterhood, as Eliso was played by Natos’s sister Kira Andronikashvili, who was repressed by the Soviet Union,” Jugheli told Cineuropa.

“We wanted to present the awards this year, as it aligned with Nato Vachnadze's 120th birthday, and Gurjaani has a tradition of national celebration on her birth and death date – 14 June. Because we had little time, we decided to launch the awards with limited nominations, plus we wanted to support the filmmakers financially, which is very important in the present reality of the Georgian film industry. In the future, we will expand and include all categories.”

The international jury, consisting of casting director Dixie Chassay, actress-screenwriter Taki Mumladze, cinematographer-director Tato Kotetishvili, director-screenwriter Babak Jalali and director-producer Nino Orjonikidze, also gave out Special Mentions, including one for Outstanding Documentary Storytelling for Magic Mountain [+lee también:
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“The Eliso Awards are not only about celebrating cinema and tradition, but also about creating a space for reflection to make people think; it’s about understanding the past and confronting the present through the art of images,” said director Nino Kirtadze, a board member of the Nato Vachnadze Foundation. “The existence of the Eliso Awards in today's Georgia can be defined as [a response to] the existential need for the art community to meet, celebrate, think, stay united and move forwards together.”

Here is the full list of Eliso Award winners:

Best Director
Elene Naveriani - Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry [+lee también:
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entrevista: Elene Naveriani
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Best Actress
Eka Chavleishvili - Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

Best Cinematography
Lomero Akhvlediani - Smiling Georgia [+lee también:
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entrevista: Luka Beradze
ficha de la película] (Georgia/Germany)

Special Mention for Best Editing
Eka Tsotsoria - Self-portrait Along the Borderline

Special Mention for Outstanding Documentary Storytelling
Mariam Chachia, Nik Voigt - Magic Mountain [+lee también:
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entrevista: Mariam Chachia, Nik Voigt
ficha de la película] (Georgia/Poland)

Special Mention for Newcomers
Nina Eradze - Liza Go On
Ani Mogeladze - Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

Special Mention for Best Ensemble
Smiling Georgia - Luka Beradze