On October 16 – 19 Tbilisi hosts a 4-day international festival „Giffoni Georgia“. This is one of the most large-scale youth festivals worldwide, as authoritative as the festivals in Cannes and Berlin. Georgia is the only Caucasian state authorized to hold the festival without having to pay any membership fee. GNFC and the National Youth Palace are expecting guests from Italy, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Croatia. 500 youngsters aged 13-18 will take part in the festival. Participants also represent Georgia’s borderline regions: Pankisi gorge, Ergneti, Nikozi, Ushguli etc.
The festival program is diverse: during 4 days children will watch films and participate in the follow-up discussions (in English). Other events related to the festival are: “Sukhishvili” master-class, performance of Amiran Shalikashvili Mime Theater, intellectual game “What? Where? When?“, workshops in computer games, photography, TV coverage, painting, animation and story-board development...
Special guests of the festival are: Oscar-nominated Georgian director Zaza Urushadze, Giorgi Ovashvili, Kakhi Kavsadze, Nino Kasradze and other outstanding Georgian filmmakers and actors. Invited speakers will give lectures on various topics. Levan Berdzenishvili will speak about cinema and literature, Misha Mdinaradze will speak about music in films, Rati Amaghlobeli – about poetry, Zaza Abashidze – about famous and unknown persons in history, Guram Tsibakhashvili – about photographic art. Recent successful Georgian films will be screened. The festival program embraces various entertainment and musical activities.
The project is an analogue of international festival “Giffoni Experience”, established in Italy in 1971. Giffoni festival is attended by stars like Meryl Streep, Richard Gere, Orlando Bloom, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Deni de Vito, Meg Ryan, Winona Rider, Roman Polanski, Lea Michele, Matt Bomer, Alan Rickman, Jessica Chestain, Eddie Redmayne, Sasha Baron Cohen, Jessica Alba, Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon and many others. Participants of the festival have a unique opportunity to meet film stars and talk to them.
The aim of the project is to promote film education, support free thinking of the younger generation, increase cultural-educational awareness of the youngsters and develop critical thinking skills. The project is supported by Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection and Tbilisi Minucipality City Council.
