Directed by Kote Mikaberidze • 1929 • USSR/Georgia

This explosive, wildly inventive, and criminally under-seen gem from Kote Mikaberidze burst out of Georgia in 1929. An absurdist satire of bureaucracy, the film follows the hapless Georgiy and his struggle to overcome a cruel administrative system impeding him at every turn. Mikaberizde’s arsenal of cinematic tricks – Constructivist sets, animation, puppetry, slapstick – is dizzying, and testament to the vitality of the Georgian avant-garde. Perhaps fittingly, the film was shelved for decades after running into issues with the censors. With a new score composed and performed by Stephen Horne.

MY GRANDMOTHER • ჩემი ბებია
Directed by Kote Mikaberidze
Written by Kote Mikaberidze, Siko Dolidze, Giorgi Mdivani
Cinematography by Anton Polikevich and Vladimir Poznan
Music by Stephen Horne
Starring: Aleksandre Takaishvili, Bella Chernova, Evgeniy Ovanov

Silent with Georgian intertitles and English subtitles