Section: Feature Film Competition

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY

Elene Naveriani

GE/CH, 2023, 112 Min

Etero is approaching 50 and runs a small shop in a remote Georgian village. She never married, out of conviction, always content with herself and without what others call “love”. Then Murman appears, and a cautious relationship develops between the shy lovemaking of two people in their mid-life crisis and the kaffeeklatsch dictatorship of the village. A romantic whistle at supposedly God-given lives and their guardians of tradition.

#featureemalevoices #love

Etero has no family, and that is precisely why he has eyes for so much else, for example the beauty of blackbirds. But then an accident awakens a longing in her that she had never felt before. Unexpectedly, she falls passionately in love and is suddenly faced with the decision of entering into a relationship or maintaining her independence. Etero must rediscover her feelings and needs to find her own path to happiness.

Elene Naveriani's tender dramedy BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY premiered at the Quinzaine des cinéastes in Cannes 2023 and won the main prize at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival. There, leading actress Eka Chavleishvili was also awarded best actress for her role as down-to-earth Etero, who discovers the magic of romantic love and her own sensual self-determination.

A sensitive, thrilling rollercoaster between empathy and irony that questions common norms and clichés about women* and sexuality with insight and humor. Even if, or precisely because this story (almost) ends in the loneliness of the village bus stop.

Drehbuch
Nikoloz Mdivani, Elene Naveriani

Kamera
Agnesh Pakozdi

Schnitt
Aurora Franco Vögeli

Ausstattung
Teo Baramidze

Darsteller
Eka Chavleishvili, Temiko Chinchinadze, Pikria Nikabadze, Anka Khurtsidze, Tamar Mdinaradze

Produzent
Thomas Reichlin, Britta Rindelaub, Ketie Daniela

Elene Naveriani - Born in 1985 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgian citizenship. Elene Naveriani studied Painting at State Academy of Art in Tbilisi. In 2011 they received their Master in Critical Curatorial Cybermedia, in 2014 their Bachelor in Film from Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). Their first feature I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH (2017) premiered at IFFR and won awards at Entrevues Belfort and Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid. Their short RED ANTS BITE (2019) premiered at IFFR. BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY (2023) had its world premiere at the Cannes 2023 Directors' Fortnight and has won numerous festival awards.

Back to the section: Feature Film Competition