Directed by Kote Kalandadze • 2022 • Georgia

The debut feature from renowned alternative musician Kote Kalandadze, The Drummer is a gritty, heartfelt portrait of creativity and desperation on the margins of modern Georgian society. Niko (Lasha Tskvitinidze) is an aspiring rock drummer in a crumbling Tbilisi suburb, eking out a living through his factory job – until a fateful meeting with charismatic drug dealer Kogo (Gogi Dzodzuashvili) threatens to derail his precarious dream of a fulfilled artistic life. Drawing on Kalandadze’s intimate knowledge of Tbilisi’s music scene, this is a fine addition to the canon of post-Soviet social realism.

THE DRUMMER • დრამერი
Directed by Kote Kalandadze
Written by Kote Kalandadze and Ekaterine Chelidze
Cinematography by Vasili Dolidze
Starring: Lasha Tskvitinidze, Nata Sopromadze, Nika Gordeziani

In Georgian with English subtitles