Film Archive

Dede

East of the West - Competition 2017 / Dede / Georgia, Qatar, Ireland, Netherlands, Croatia 2017

It’s 1992. Young Dina lives in a remote mountain village where life is strictly governed by centuries of tradition. Is it possible to defy the firmly established order? And, if it is, what price must a person pay for doing so? Debut director Mariam Khatchvani set her first film in Svaneti, the stark mountainous region in northwestern Georgia where she herself was born, and she presents us with an authentic portrayal of a number of customs and traditions associated with this province.

Synopsis

It’s 1992. Young Dina lives in a remote mountain village where life is strictly governed by centuries of tradition. Dina’s grandfather has promised her to David, who is returning from the war. But with him comes a comrade-in-arms, the handsome Gegi, and Dina falls in love. Is it possible to defy the firmly established order? And, if it is, what price must a person pay for doing so? Debuting Georgian director Mariam Khatchvani set her narrative in Svaneti, the stark mountainous region in northwestern Georgia where she was born, and she presents us with an authentic portrayal of a number of customs and traditions associated with this province. The ravishing beauty of the majestic, unyielding natural surroundings only serves to accentuate the heroine’s struggle with tradition as she seeks to acquire her freedom and the right to make her own decisions. Inspired by the story of Khatchvani’s grandmother, Dede develops a theme that already appeared in the filmmaker’s internationally successful short Dinola.

Lenka Tyrpáková

About the film

97 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Mariam Khatchvani / Screenplay Mariam Khatchvani, Vladimer Katcharava, Irakli Solomanashvili / Dir. of Photography Konstantin Mindia Esadze / Music Tako Jordania, Mate Chamgeliani / Editor Levan Kukhashvili / Art Director Mamuka Esadze / Producer Vladimer Katcharava / Production 20 Steps Productions / Coproduction Film and Music Entertainment (Sam Taylor, Mike Downey), MP Film Production (Igor A. Nola), Montauk Film Production; in association with Jaja Film Productions (Conrad Alleblas, Jamillah Van Der Hulst), Dutch Film Club; with support of Doha Film Institute, Georgian National Film Center / Cast George Babluani, Natia Vibliani, Girshel Chelidze, Nukri Khatchvani, Spartak Parjiani, Sofia Charkviani, Mose Khatchvani / Sales WIDE

About the director

Mariam Khatchvani (b. 1986, Ushguli, Georgia, USSR) studied film direction at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University. She shot various short documentaries, including Verdzoba (2006), Beyond the Window (Panjris mighma, 2007), Lichanishi (2009), and Kvirikoba (2009). She made the short feature Dinola in 2013, which was screened at more than thirty festivals all over the world, winning a series of awards. The work was also one of the five short films nominated by the European Film Academy for its short film award. Dede is her feature film debut, with a script developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.