Taming the Garden
Directed by
Switzerland, Germany, Georgia
2021
92 min
- Georgian
Documentary
A powerful man, who is also the former prime minister of Georgia, has developed an unusual hobby. He buys century-old trees, some as tall as 15-floor buildings, and has them excavated along the Georgian coastline to collect them for his private garden. In order to transplant trees of such dimensions, the landscape surrounding them is ripped apart and the people living around them are forced to adapt to the disruption. As the film follows this process, it portrays the needs and values of today’s Georgian society and reflects on the theme of forced migration, where "uprooting" is more than a metaphor.
Awards
- Youth Prize Special Mention - Cinéma du réel
- Silver Puma for Best Film, International Competition & Audience Award - FICUNAM
Festivals
Labels & Line Ups
Credits
- Screenplay
- Salomé Jashi
- Cinematography
- Goga Devdariani
- Salomé Jashi
- Editing
- Chris Wright
- Music
- Philippe Ciompi
- Celia Stroom
- Sales
- SYNDICADO FILM SALES
- Production
- MIRA FILM
- Production
- CORSO FILMS
- Production
- SAKDOC FILM
Press
-
A film where the offbeat subject matter and striking imagery make an entrancing combination.
Salomé Jashi
Georgia
To me, documentary cinema is a mixture of reality and the director's vision, where the film form is an added layer to the content.
Salomé Jashi was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1981. She first studied journalism and worked as a reporter for several years. In 2005 she was awarded a British Council scholarship to study documentary filmmaking at University of London. Salomé’s THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF SUNSET (2016) was awarded the Main Prize at Visions du Réel’s Regard Neuf Competition as well as at ZagrebDox, Jihlava IDFF and Valdivia IDFF. Her previous film BAKHMARO (2011), made in co-production with ma.ja. de. filmproduktion and MDR/Arte, received an Honorary Mention for a Young Documentary Talent at DOK Leipzig, was awarded as the Best Central and Eastern European Documentary at Jihlava IDFF, and was nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Silver Eye Awards. Her most recent film is TAMING THE GARDEN (2021), which had its world premiere at Sundance FF.
