For over three weeks, Georgian filmmakers have been protesting against the decision made by the Minister of Culture of Georgia, causing a wave of discontent. The minister's abrupt elimination of the deputy director positions at the Film Centre, the appointment of an inexperienced interim director from the penitentiary system, and the placement of a government party propagandist in a production role have stirred upheaval. The filmmakers wrote a letter requesting a meeting with the deputy director, but unfortunately, they did not receive a response from him. In response, the Georgian cinematographers began going to the Film Centre office every day and knocking on its doors, essentially turning it into a form of rally.
Within this brief span, alarming statements regarding cinema censorship have emerged from parliamentarians and government representatives. Notions of films being classified as favourable or unfavourable, with suggestions of altering existing films, have permeated discussions.
The repercussions have already touched one of Georgia's documentary films, Smiling Georgia, which premiered at the esteemed Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Its director, Luka Beradze, actively participated in the protests. Strikingly, the official Facebook page of the Film Centre acknowledged two Georgian films premiering at Karlovy Vary, yet while one film's title, director, and cast were specified, the protesting director's work was referred to as "the second film."
The new generation of Georgian filmmakers and students now stand resolutely in front of the Ministry of Culture, demanding an end to censorship in cinema and the establishment of an independent Film Centre. Their cause has garnered support from various creative realms and received backing from numerous international festivals and film organizations.
The filmmakers have two fundamental demands: firstly, halting the ongoing reorganization process, which is being executed by individuals lacking competence in the film industry; and secondly, ensuring the appointment of the director through an electoral process, upholding principles of fairness and transparency.
It goes without saying that the filmmakers of Baltic to Black Sea Documentary Network stand by the side of our Georgian fellow colleagues. We support their struggle for independence and against political censorship. We demand that the politicians in Georgia should finally quit their obsolete, post-Soviet methods of political decision-making. Free media and free voice of creators is one of the main tools of free, contemporary societies. We want Georgia to remain free, and not becoming a one more tragicomic corrupted dictatorship sprouting on the decomposed corpse of the Soviet empire.
July 14, 2023.
