The 6th edition of the DALI Svaneti International Film Festival (20–27 July) has come to a successful close with a heartfelt open-air ceremony held against the spectacular backdrop of Shkhara, the highest peak in Georgia and the Caucasus. This year, the festival moved from the region's main town, Mestia, to the picturesque village of Ushguli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognised as one of Europe's highest continuously inhabited settlements.

With the mission of providing international visibility to film projects from Georgia and the wider region, the festival expanded its industry activities into two sections: a Pitching Forum for projects in development and a Work in Progress showcase for film productions in the later stages of development seeking additional financing. By awarding three cash prizes, the festival reinforces its role as a platform supporting emerging talent, with the backing of the Georgian Film Center and the Georgian National Tourism Administration.

The Pitching Forum jury – consisting of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival programmer Edvinas Pukšta, Georgian producer Nika Abramishvili and film festival consultant and producer Alena Shumakova – awarded the Best International Project prize to Kura, by Azerbaijani director and screenwriter Murad Allahverdi. The film follows a shaman girl who tries to save the river and the people who share its destiny, making an effort to drive away the nightmare using ancient Tengri rituals. The project received the Creative Georgia Award worth 10,000 GEL (approximately €3,350).

The Best Georgian Project prize went to Silent Law, by directors and screenwriters Ilia Ebitashvili and Irina Petrikei, which explores the tradition of arranged marriages in Svaneti. The project received the Georgian Public Broadcaster Award worth 5,000 GEL (approximately €1,700).

A special mention went to The Chaos of Silence by Georgian director Nino Shaburishvili, which follows a young techno DJ who, exhausted by the ideological polarisation of a technologically accelerated world, experiences an existential crisis and is forced to leave his comfort zone, retreating to a remote mountain village.

Meanwhile, the Work in Progress jury – comprising Marco Müller, Director of the Film Arts Research Centre at Shanghai University; Frédéric Boyer, Artistic Director of the Tribeca Film Festival, Khalil Benkirane; Head of the Grants Programme at the Doha Film Institute; and US-Iranian filmmaker Amir Naderi – awarded the Grand Prize to Being a Sujuk by Turkish director Volkan Durmuş, which follows the life cycle of a wrestling camel in western Turkey from birth to slaughter. The project received the Creative Georgia Award worth 10,000 GEL.

Additionally, the programme included masterclasses by international experts: Kim Young Woo, programmer at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival and BIFAN; Fernanda Rennó Castro Stavik, producer, distributor and founder of Fidalgo Film Production; Ran Li, Director of the Tiantan Award at the Beijing International Film Festival; Riina Mikkonen, Executive Director and Programmer at the Tampere Film Festival; Georgian director, screenwriter and producer Giorgi Ovashvili (Corn Island); as well as the aforementioned Boyer, Müller, Benkirane and Naderi.

The latter was also honoured with a short retrospective of his early Iranian films, including the recently restored feature The Runner (1984) and the mid-length film Waiting (1974). The film programme also included a curated selection of restored Georgian short-film classics from the 1960s and 1970s.

Here is a full list of the awards:

Pitching Forum Competition

Best International Project
Kura – Murad Allahverdi (Azerbaijan)

Best Georgian Project
Silent Law – Ilia Ebitashvili, Irina Petrikei (Georgia/Netherlands)
Production: Iliko Production

Special Mention
The Chaos of Silence – Nino Shaburishvili (Georgia)

Work in Progress Competition
Being a Sujuk – Volkan Durmuş (Turkey)
Production: Serpil Altın Film, Layla Film