Dinola
Bader - ages 18+ - Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2014
Mariam Khatchvani / Short Narrative / Georgia / 2013 / 15 min / Colour / DCP / In Georgian / Arabic, English subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance advised for viewers under the age of 15. Individuals under the age of 15 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or over.
Synopsis
In the province of Svaneti, high in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, custom dictates that if a woman is widowed, she is required to marry the first man who demands her hand. Based on a true story, Mariam Khatchvani’s dark and ponderous ‘Dinola’ is a blunt and brutal examination of the rights of women and children living in this tradition. Where is the benefit to society in a law that forces a mother to abandon her children?
About the Director
Writer-director Mariam Khatchvani was born in Ushguli, Svaneti, and studied film directing at the Shota Rustaveli State Film University. She has directed several documentaries, including ‘Verdzoba’ (2006), ‘Beyond the Window’ (2007) and ‘Lichanishi and Kvirikoba’ (2009). In 2013, she made the short film ‘Dinola’, which won 18 awards at European film festivals and was selected for La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde at the Festival de Cannes. Funded by the Georgian National Film Centre, it was hugely successful and screened at more than 30 film festivals and was one of five nominees for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards in 2014. After seeing ‘Dinola’, the Sundance Institute invited Khatchvani and writer-producer Vladimer Katcharava to attend the 2015 Screenwriters’ Lab. With lots of help and inspiration from renowned filmmakers including Tobias Lindholm and Catherine Hardwicke, they expanded ‘Dinola’ into the full-length screenplay for ‘Dede’.
Credits
- Director
- Mariam Khatchvani
- Screenwriter
- Mariam Khatchvani
- Producer
- Vladimer Katcharava
- Editor
- Levan Kukhashvili
- Cinematographer
- Konstantin Mindia Esadze
- Sales Company
- 20 Steps Productions
- Production Company
- 20 Steps Productions
- Cast
- Nutsi Khaptani, Katie Lortkipanidze, Vakhtang Chachanidze, Datuna Guledani, Nukri Khatchvani