Giorgi Ovashvili ( ka, გიორგი ოვაშვილი; aka George) is a Georgian film director and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, known for his 2014 film ''

Corn Island The Corn Islands are two islands about east of the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 Municipality, municipalities of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua. The official name of the municipalit ...

''.

Early life and education

Giorgi Ovashvili is a graduate of the film department of the Georgian State University of Cinema and Theatre (1996) and the filmmaking department of the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

in Hollywood (2006).

Career

Ovashvili made his debut as

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

with two short films, "Wagonnet" (1997) and "Eye Level" (2005). His first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

, '' The Other Bank'', premiered at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

's Generation section in 2009 and won over 50 international prizes, and was nominated at

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

in the category "European Discovery". His second feature, ''

'', won the Crystal Globe at

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

as well as the Grand Prix "Golden Vine" award at

Kinoshock "Kinoshock" Open Film Festival of CIS and Baltic countries, also spelt Kinoshok, is a film festival staged in the Black Sea resort of Anapa, Russia, each September. "CIS" refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprising nine member s ...

in 2014, and in 2015 took a top prize at the

Trieste Film Festival The Trieste Film Festival is an international film festival founded in 1989. Held annually on the third week of January in Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Region ...

and was shortlisted for the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

's best foreign-language film in 2015. '' Khibula'' (2017) was dedicated to the recent history of Georgia. The film was premiered in the main competition of Karlovy Vary IFF in 2017. Ovashvili is working on ''The Moon is a Father of Mine''.

Production company

After having produced his own works, Ovashvili established his own

film production Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

company in 2016, Wagonnet Films, in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Recognition and awards

In 2015, Ovashvili received a special award named "High Priest of Culture", along with director

Zaza Urushadze Zaza Urushadze ( ka, ზაზა ურუშაძე; 30 October 1965 — 7 December 2019) was a Georgians, Georgian film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. Biography Zaza Urushadze was a son of Ramaz Urushadze, a famous Sov ...

, for contributing to and promoting Georgian cinema internationally.

Filmography

Director

* '' Beautiful Helen'' (2022) * '' Khibula'' (2017) * ''

'' (2014) * ''Gagma napiri'' (2009), '' The Other Bank'' * ''Eye Level...'' (2005) * ''Wagonette'' (1997)

Screenwriter

* '' Beautiful Helen'' (2022) * ''Khibula'' (2017) * "corn island" (2014) * ''Gagma napiri'' (2009) (adaptation), ''The Other Bank'' * ''Eye Level...'' (2005) * ''Wagonnet'' (1996)

Producer

* '' Beautiful Helen'' (2022) * ''Khibula'' (2017) * "corn island" (2014) * ''Gagma napiri'' (2009) (producer), "The Other Bank" * ''Eye Level...'' (2005) (co-producer) (executive producer) * ''Wagonnet'' (1996)

Self - TV

* Euro Video Grand Prix (2006) (TV) .... Himself - Jury Member

References

External links

*
The other Bank

George Ovashvili: The Other Bank (Gagma napiri, 2008)
reviewed by Julie Christensen © 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ovashvili, George Living people Film directors from Georgia (country) Screenwriters from Georgia (country) Film people from Tbilisi New York Film Academy alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Media Wave Award winners