Directed by Vakhtang Tabliashvili and Shalva Gedevanishvili • 1948 • USSR/Georgia

Georgia’s first musical, Keto and Kote is a baroque love story about the triumph of youth and ingenuity over cynicism and greed. Keto (Medea Japaridze), the daughter of a rich merchant from Tbilisi, and Kote (Batu Kraveishvili), nephew of a ruined prince, face an abrupt end to their romance when their families decide on a marriage of convenience between Keto and the prince. Matchmaker Khanuma (Tamari Chavchavadze), however, takes matters into her own hands. Based on Avksenty Tsagareli’s popular nineteenth-century play, with musical numbers drawn from the eponymous opera by Viktor Dolidze, this is a striking variation on the Soviet musical that conjures up the lost world of pre-revolutionary Tbilisi.

KETO AND KOTE • ქეთო და კოტე
Directed by Vakhtang Tabliashvili and Shalva Gedevanishvili
Written by Sergo Pashalishvili
From the play by Avksenty Tsagareli
Cinematography by Aleksandre Digmelovi
Music by Archil Kereselidze
Starring: Medea Japaridze, Batu Kraveishvili, Tamari Chavchavadze

In Georgian with English subtitles