{"id":5619,"date":"2026-08-19T20:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T20:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5619"},"modified":"2026-08-19T20:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T20:11:00","slug":"georgian-director-ana-urushadze-on-making-her-sarajevo-competition-film-before-a-dead-end-situation-got-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5619","title":{"rendered":"Georgian Director Ana Urushadze on Making Her Sarajevo Competition Film Before \u201cA Dead-End Situation\u201d Got Worse"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tThe Georgian film industry is, in Ana Urushadze\u2019s words, \u201cin a dead-end situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5617\">\u2018DTF St. Louis\u2019 Boss Explains How \u2013 and Why \u2013 He Pulled Off That Cringe Rap Scene<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tDirectors, producers, writers and performers are boycotting the Georgian National Film Center (GNFC). Among other issues, they\u2019re protesting the state funding agency over censorship concerns. \u201cUnfortunately, the people who should care and have the means to turn the situation around don\u2019t do that. It\u2019s a dead-end situation at this point,\u201d she says. \u201cThe people boycotting, I know many of them and there are very, very talented people there. Ones who have not had any possibility to do a feature film yet, and possibly will not have [the chance] in the near future. Time goes by, and films are not being made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tUrushadze\u2019s second feature film, premiering in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival nine years after her debut film <em>Scary Mother<\/em> won the Heart of Sarajevo, was one of the last projects to make it out before the situation worsened. <\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe Tbilisi-set <em>Supporting Role<\/em> follows Niaz Ninua (played by Dato Bakhtadze), a fading Georgian film star accustomed to playing heroic lead roles. After meeting with a young, female director, Aza (Elene Maisuradze), who offers him the chance to play a bizarre and deeply unsympathetic character in her debut feature, Niaz leaves the audition unconvinced (and pretty offended). But he soon embarks on something of an odyssey around the city and gradually surrenders to the role. Captivated by the unknown, meeting characters as elusive as those in a Homer epic, Niaz sets in motion an irreversible process of self-transformation.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cTo me, ultimately, it\u2019s a film about realizing the elusive nature of reality, and taking control of your life,\u201d the Georgian filmmaker tells <em>The Hollywood Reporter <\/em>from Sarajevo\u2019s National Theatre on Wednesday. We are catching up ahead of the movie\u2019s competition premiere before a star-studded jury \u2014 led by Oscar nominee Emily Watson \u2014 decides on a winning film later this week.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tUrushadze\u2019s meta-ish project is inspired by a lot of prevalent, 21st-century themes: the generational gap, creative liberation and legacy. Inspiration struck when she herself was casting the main actor for her debut feature. \u201cI was meeting all these men [who were] 60, 70 years old. And I had a really interesting encounter with one of them who got offended because I was very young \u2014\u00a0very [much] a beginner,\u201d she laughs. \u201cHe was waiting for a more established director and he rushed out. It was really inspirational for me. I started thinking about this character: \u2018Who is it? What would he be like?&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5615\">\u2018Love Lessons\u2019 Review: A Retired Teacher Dithers Over His Dating Options in Seductive Seaside French Fluff<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tNiaz is played with self-effacing vulnerability by Bakhtadze, who is \u201ca delight\u201d to work with, according to the director. \u201cYou can really see how he loves and how comfortable he is in what he\u2019s doing. It\u2019s always inspiring to see people doing something that they are really passionate about and professional,\u201d she says. The journey he goes on is about \u201cletting go of the script that others gave you \u2014\u00a0literally,\u201d explains Urushadze.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tShe admits that themes around the ego and male fragility weren\u2019t exactly planned. \u201cMany actors of that generation have shared traits \u2014\u00a0they lived through the same era, the same problems, and it automatically marked them in some way. That by itself appears in the film, but it wasn\u2019t my main idea. I didn\u2019t really overthink it. It happened by itself,\u201d Urushadze says. \u201cThere is a big generation gap,\u201d she adds. \u201c[Aza] is, I guess, Gen Z, and he\u2019s the boomer generation. It\u2019s a very big gap. Especially in Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBeing in Sarajevo is, however, a privilege \u2014\u00a0no matter how bad things are in the Georgian film industry. \u201cI\u2019m very, very happy to be here, and it\u2019s very important. Especially in this [current climate], when you don\u2019t really see perspective,\u201d Urushadze beams. \u201cAnd it gives you opportunities to connect with people, to share new ideas and get someone interested in a new project.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tIs she thinking about that next project yet? And is she staying resolute in the face of a warring film community? \u201cBy all means, of course. I take it one step at a time. I have a new idea, I\u2019m working on it. I\u2019m trying to make a script, and it\u2019s a pity that maybe it won\u2019t be Georgian \u2014\u00a0the next one. I don\u2019t know. You have to have a major fund from Georgia for it to be called a Georgian [production], but I don\u2019t want to stop doing what I love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5613\">Hayden Panettiere\u2019s Ex-Boyfriend and Years-Long Abuser Received a Visit From Police After Her Death<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe 2026 Sarajevo Film Festival runs Aug. 14-21.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The filmmaker talks about her Dato Bakhtadze-starring competition title and a warring Georgian film industry in Sarajevo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,1425],"class_list":["post-5619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-international","tag-sarajevo-film-festival"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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