A support letter to the Georgian Filmmakers’ community
For over three weeks, Georgian filmmakers have been protesting against the decision made by the Minister of Culture of Georgia, causing a wave of discontent. The minister's abrupt elimination of the deputy director positions at the Film Centre, the appointment of an inexperienced interim director from the penitentiary system, and the placement of a government party propagandist in a production role have stirred upheaval. The filmmakers wrote a letter requesting a meeting with the deputy director, but unfortunately, they did not receive a response from him. In response, the Georgian cinematographers began going to the Film Centre office every day and knocking on its doors, essentially turning it into a form of rally.
Within this brief span, alarming statements regarding cinema censorship have emerged from parliamentarians and government representatives. Notions of films being classified as favourable or unfavourable, with suggestions of altering existing films, have permeated discussions.
The repercussions have already touched one of Georgia's documentary films, Smiling Georgia, which premiered at the esteemed Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Its director, Luka Beradze, actively participated in the protests. Strikingly, the official Facebook page of the Film Centre acknowledged two Georgian films premiering at Karlovy Vary, yet while one film's title, director, and cast were specified, the protesting director's work was referred to as "the second film."
The new generation of Georgian filmmakers and students now stand resolutely in front of the Ministry of Culture, demanding an end to censorship in cinema and the establishment of an independent Film Centre. Their cause has garnered support from various creative realms and received backing from numerous international festivals and film organizations.
The filmmakers have two fundamental demands: firstly, halting the ongoing reorganization process, which is being executed by individuals lacking competence in the film industry; and secondly, ensuring the appointment of the director through an electoral process, upholding principles of fairness and transparency.
It goes without saying that the filmmakers of Baltic to Black Sea Documentary Network stand by the side of our Georgian fellow colleagues. We support their struggle for independence and against political censorship. We demand that the politicians in Georgia should finally quit their obsolete, post-Soviet methods of political decision-making. Free media and free voice of creators is one of the main tools of free, contemporary societies. We want Georgia to remain free, and not becoming a one more tragicomic corrupted dictatorship sprouting on the decomposed corpse of the Soviet empire.
July 14, 2023.
Sign the letter here
The list of signatories is constantly updated:
Alex Shiriaieff, B2B Doc CEO, Sweden
Ilja Stenberg, Project Manager B2B Doc, Sweden
Vahagn khachatryan, Armenia
Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych, Director, head of Directors guild of Ukraine, Ukraine
Snezhana Gusarevych, A film director, Ukraine
Kasia Boniecka, Film Editor, France
Ruxanda Spatari, Moldova
Ringaile Lescinskiene, Lithuania
Bernardas Andriusis, ANABEN FILMS, Lithuania
Zeynab Isgandarova, filmmaker, Azerbaijan
Elena Saulich, Producer, Ukraine
Inka Achté, Finland
Ivan Sautkin, Ukraine
Monika Franczak, Screenwriter, Poland
Ion Gnatiuc, Producer, Republic of Moldova
Iryna Kyporenko, film manager, producer, director, Ukraine
Anna Kapustina, Producer, Ukraine
Andrei Kutsila, director, Belarus / Poland
Simon Mozgovyi, Filmmaker, Ukraine
Olga Gibelinda, Director/Producer, Ukraine
Lana Shapoval, Filmmaker, Ukraine
Natalia Imaz, Producer, Germany / Spain
Mariia Ponomarova, Director, creative producer, Ukraine/The Netherlands
Olga Stuga, Filmmaker, Ukraine
Siarhiej Kanaplianik, cinematographer, Belarus
Svitlana Lishchynska, Director, Ukraine
Dr Vyacheslav "Slavik" Bihun, Head the Supervisory Board of Directors Guild of Ukraine, film director (e. g., "Mama's Heart. Gongadze"), Ukraine
Ina Nersesian, Filmmaker, Georgia
Anna Savchenko, Filmmaker, Belarus
Malcolm Dixelius, Senior film producer, Sweden
alice appel, Australia
Uldis Cekulis, Film Producer, Latvia
Kristina Mikhailova, Director, producer, WOMEN MAKE DOCS co-founder, Kazakhstan
Lucia Lupu, Film Director, Moldova
Anastasia Kirillova, Filmmaker and Head of Talent B2B Doc, Sweden
Anna Eborn, Film Director and Editor, Sweden
Wouter Jansen,CEO - Square Eyes, Austria
Amiran Ananiashvili, Georgia
Valeria Testagrossa, Director, Italy
Meltse Van Coillie, Belgium
Jela Hasler,Director, Switzerland
Vladimir Léon, Filmmaker, France
Tue Steen Müller, Film Consultant, Denmark
Rui Ribeiro, Documentary Producer, Portugal
Fanny Ovesen, Director, Sweden
Olaf Malinowski, Poland
Ruta jekentaite, Lithuania
Pierre Léon, filmmaker, France