Georgia's 'Guria' Oscar Submission Charms at Venice — SkimNews
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- 'Guria', directed by Levan Koguashvili, is Georgia's submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar and recently premiered in Venice's Spotlight sidebar
- The black-and-white film is set in the 1990s in the rural western Georgian town of Guria, where hazelnut farmer Zuriko (Kakhaber Tcholadze) seeks a buyer, a wife, and survival amid post-civil war penury
- The screenplay was co-written by Koguashvili, Boris Frumin, and Georgi Kekelidze, and runs nearly two hours, which the review notes contains 'a digression or two too many'
- Reviewer highlights myopia around the women in the community, noting the 'quite barbaric bride kidnapping incident' powering the second half draws female characters with less dimension than the men
- Koguashvili's previous film, 'Brighton 4th' (2021), won top honors at Tribeca, making 'Guria' his fourth feature and first since that win
- Reviewer praises Koguashvili's signature camera tic — picking up borderline surreal elements like a goat in the mayor's office and only later revealing the ridiculous logic behind them
Why it matters: Georgia's annual Oscar submission is one of the few international windows onto the country's cinema, and Koguashvili's pedigree (Tribeca winner for 'Brighton 4th') makes 'Guria' a credible contender rather than a token entry. The reviewer's critique of underdeveloped female characters in a film centered on a bride-kidnapping incident flags a recurring blind spot that could complicate the film's awards traction with international juries attuned to such portrayals.
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