culture

5 Posts

•

0 Followers

Protesters holding a banner saying ‘No to censorship! Independence to the film centre!’ on 6 July. Photo: Georgian cinema is under threat/Facebook

culture

‘Georgian cinema is in danger’: filmmakers take on the culture ministry

by Luiza Mchedlishvili

•12 min read

Since mid-June, Georgian filmmakers and their supporters have been protesting a ‘reorganisation’ of the country’s National Film Centre by the Ministry of Culture, warning that it aims to extend full government control over the country’s cinematic output. ‘Censorship’ is the word that Gaga Chkheidze uses to describe the Ministry of Culture’s reforms at the Film Centre. Chkheidze is the founder of the Tbilisi International Film Festival and a former board member of the Georgian Film Developm

bolnisi

Bolnisi Museum — the longest human journey

by Hans Gutbrod

•6 min read

The Bolnisi Museum is a gem you should visit even if you have just a few days in Georgia. The findings it displays inspire awe and may even change how you look at the history of human development. Around an hour’s drive south of Tbilisi, the Bolnisi Museum is the major exhibit for the archaeological site of Dmanisi — where the first hominins outside Africa were found. Opened two years ago as the pandemic got going, the museum is a first-class attraction, as its nomination for the European Mus

Gianandrea Noseda conducting the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra performing at the Tsinandali Festival on the 16 September 2021. Photo: Peter Liakhov/OC Media.

culture

As Georgia reels from the Delta variant, the Tsinandali Festival plays on

by Peter Liakhov

•3 min read

The improbably held Tsinandali Festival might be a model for the revival of Georgia’s music scene — but its reduced scope shows that nothing escapes the ravages of COVID-19. A music festival in a country with one of the world’s highest COVID-19 death rates — frankly, it seemed an impossibility, or at the very least, a terrible idea. The Tsinandali Festival, held between 8–19 September, however, appears to have proved that assumption wrong, even if the ravages of the pandemic have ensured th

Azerbaijan

Two States, One Nation: the mixed blessings of Turkish influence in Azerbaijan

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•6 min read

For better or worse, Turkish culture exerts a considerable influence on modern Azerbaijani youth culture. While for many films, television, music, and literature from Turkey offer a window into the wider world, some worry it is supplanting Azerbaijan’s own culture. ‘Abi, give me a beer’, leaning on his elbow, a young man addresses the bartender in a Turkish manner: ‘abi’ means ‘elder brother’ or ‘friend’. He has a carefully trimmed beard, and on his wrists are bracelets of wood and leather

Armenia

Armenian–Azerbaijani families — wishing the good times were back

by Gita Elibekyan

•6 min read

While the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh rages on, mixed Armenian–Azerbaijani families in Georgia continue to thrive. Such families face many difficulties — not least their inability to travel to each others’ countries — and wish for more peaceful times to return. [Read in Armenian — Հոդվածը հայերեն կարդացեք] There are no figures on the number of Armenian–Azerbaijani couples in Georgia, but anecdotally, such families are not hard to find. Some were formed before, and some even after the c