Best Georgian documentary movies

Am Rande der Welt (1993)

"At the Edge of the World" was filmed in 1991, the year of independence, and 1992, the year of war. One year between life as it was then and life as it is now, between rejoicing and destruction. The civil war in Georgia destroyed the utopia of freedom and left behind a battlefield, both in the country itself and in the minds of the Georgians.

Ramin (2011)

Ramin, an ex-wrestler who once won seven matches in 55 seconds, lives alone in the east Georgian town of Kvareli. Long ago he fell in love with a girl with whom he was estranged soon after he met her. Now, at 75, still unmarried but full of life, he travels to a remote village to seek her out. This film presents Ramin's journey through the Georgian landscape and through the memories of this man with a old aged body and an unbeatable heart.

The Trader (2018)

A traveling trader provides a window into rural life in the Republic of Georgia, where potatoes are currency and ambition is crushed by poverty.

Taming the Garden (2022)

Georgia’s former prime minister has found a unique hobby. He collects century-old trees, some as tall as 15-story buildings, from communities along the Georgian coast. At a great expense and inconvenience, these ancient giants are uprooted from their lands to be transplanted in his private garden.

Russian Lessons (2010)

Russian Lessons sees its two filmmaker-protagonists, Olga Konskaya and Andrei Nekrasov, report from different posts on the frontline of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war.

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear (2013)

The story begins with an experiment. A filmmaker in the country of Georgia posts an ad inviting youth to audition for her film. Facing the camera, the hopefuls confess their struggles and dreams. These raw interviews unfold seamlessly into cinematic slivers of Georgian life.

A Tunnel (2019)

An old railway station in a remote valley of Georgia suddenly becomes a site for a big change, when hundreds of Chinese settle around it to build the New Silk Road.

Georgia from Above (2020)

The Dazzling Light of Sunset (2016)

Flanked by her phlegmatic sidekick, Dariko is the only outside broadcast journalist at a local Georgian television channel. With derisory resources, she races from one report to another to give an honest, if not objective, image of the current events that shape her environment.

English Teacher (2012)

Young, adventurous English teacher is assigned to carry out a ‘linguistic revolution’ in the remote Georgian village. Basically looking for new adventures, a young teacher finds himself on the frontier of the big political change in the country. In order to get rid of the Soviet legacy and engage with the western world, government initiates a project to ‘invade’ Georgia with English speakers. Excited traveler is determined to contribute to a ‘radical changes’ in a small post soviet country. But when the first wave of excitement disappears, he is confronted with the gloomy reality.

When the Earth Seems to Be Light (2015)

A poetic documentary about modern youth... the stories of kids, skaters, artists and musicians in a post soviet Georgia - a country in a distracted condition, where one can be crashed by the power of church and politics. A close look at the rich world of teenager dreams and sentiments, being lost searching for non existing spots of freedom and romantic state of mind.

Raving Riot (2019)

In a post-soviet republic of Georgia, in South Caucasus where religious and folk traditions are still the main authority, new generation of pro-western youth tries to build their own future. The protest of 10 000 young Tbilisi citizens turns into 2 day massive rave at the Parliament of Georgia.

How the Room Felt (2021)

In the Georgian city of Kutaisi, a local women’s football team constitutes the heart of a group of female and non-binary queer people, who get together regularly to hang out, to party, to hug each other, and to discuss existential issues. Their gatherings provide a cozy, safe space for these young people in a society that’s not known for embracing its LGBTQ+ community. Discrimination, exclusion, and violence are part of the daily reality for these sports enthusiasts and their friends, whether on the streets or, in some cases, within the family. When they’re together, they find the love, warmth, and safety they need to fully be themselves.

Journey of Akaki Tsereteli in Racha-Lechkhumi (1912)

The first Georgian full-length documentary follows the trip of the “king of Georgian poetry”, Akaki Tsereteli, to Racha and Lechkhumi, and his relationships with the people living in the mountainous areas of Western Georgia

Smiling Georgia (2023)

During its 2012 election campaign titled “Smiling Georgia,” the governing party promised its country’s poorest residents new teeth in exchange for their vote. Dentists began to pull people’s decayed teeth, but after the election defeat, the trusting public never received their new pearly whites…

Self-Portrait Along the Borderline (2023)

Anna Dziapshipa was born of the union between an Abkhazian man and a Georgian woman. In Self-Portrait Along the Borderline, she skilfully weaves together unique archives and fragments to offer a personal and political biography of Georgia-Abkhazia relations. This vibrant exploration foregrounds a divided identity caught between the margins.

Landscape with Meir Pichhadze (2000)

Georgian-born Israeli artist Meir Pichhadze never let emotion run his life. He hated nostalgia, but in the spring of 1999, he returned to Georgia with his friend Aaron and the spirit of his dark-eyed sister Makvalla. She died by suicide a year after arriving in Israel and it is said she died of longings for her homeland. It turns out that nostalgia was in fact simmering inside Meir and it led him back to Georgia to explore some old wounds.

I am Sergei Parajanov! (1990)

Documentary made and dedicated to Sergei Parajanov shortly after his death, featuring archive photographs, his collages, and clips from several of his films.

For Lilith (2023)

In the hands of a young filmmaker, a Handycam primarily used for homemade family movies transforms into a tool for self-reflection. Compilations of personal archives and images from the subconscious prompt us to embark on a journey of re-examining gender-identity formation in a conservative, post-Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Gelati (1958)

Lana Gogoberidze's thesis film about Gelati Monastery, a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia.

Sunny (2021)

Intrepid social researcher Sunny drops into strangers' living rooms in Tbilisi, popping controversial questions. No topic is off limits. Should minority rights be protected? What are your thoughts on abortion? Have you ever felt ashamed to be Georgian? And what age did you stop believing in Santa Claus? Many young people now leave what was once known as "Sunny Georgia" to find work in countries where economic opportunities are easier to come by.