Guria

In the early 1990s, life in western Georgia unfolds amid power cuts, poverty and uncertainty. Zuriko, a 45-year-old widower who grows hazelnuts, refuses to sell his crop for the meagre price offered by the traders and is determined to find a better deal. He tries to begin a new chapter in his life and falls in love with Maia, the village music teacher. Around him life follows its peculiar course: people work, drink, sing, fall in love and get into trouble, while the country itself is going through a period of upheaval. The new film by Levan Koguashvili (Blind Dates), which screened at the Venice Film Festival, is a deeply human drama about a society trying to carry on as the world around it gradually falls apart. Koguashvili regards his characters with affection and dry humour, while the beautiful black-and-white cinematography captures the landscapes and village life in all their beauty. Amid the poverty and chaos, he finds moments of grace, absurdity and hope.