30. Film Festival della Lessinia
Bosco Chiesanuova (Italia)
23 August - 1 September 2024

After a period of study abroad, Elene leaves New York to return to Tbilisi, her native city from which she had moved away, but soon realizes that many things have changed in her absence. Or maybe she has changed, and finds herself struggling to reconnect with the part of herself she's been cultivating all along. She is twenty-five when she meets Gabo, a middle-aged director in the midst of an existential crisis. The two are united by a sense of disorientation that leads them to embark on a journey in which they approach each other intellectually, with the hope of finding new stimuli from their long conversations on the meaning of life and storytelling. Mshvenieri Elene is a film entirely based on dialogue and acting, which give life to a creative energy imbued with intellectual stimulation and challenges, on deep and dramatic notes that explore the complexity of life.

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  George Ovashvili

  He is a Georgian director and screenwriter born in 1963. He studied at the Georgian State University of Cinema and Theatre and at the New York Film Academy. His film Corn Island (2014) received various accolades and in 2015 was selected as the Georgian entry in the foreign language film category at the 87th Academy Awards. In 2016 he founded a film production company in Tbilisi, Wagonnet Films, and was recognized for his contribution to promoting Georgian cinema internationally. Mshvenieri Elene (2022), is among the films in the retrospective dedicated to him this year by the National Cinema Museum in Turin.