London Georgian Film Festival — 10th Edition

Beyond the Village | 1–4 October | Ciné Lumière 

Join us for the 10th edition of the London Georgian Film Festival, four days celebrating the richness, boldness and extraordinary heritage of Georgian cinema. From International and UK Premieres to restored classics and special guest Q&As, this year’s festival explores the many ways Georgian filmmakers have captured a country caught between tradition, modernity and profound social change.

From 1–4 October, Ciné Lumière becomes the home of Georgian cinema for the most significant Georgian cultural event in the UK.         

The Wishing Tree

Thursday 1 October — Opening Night

The Opening Film is The Wishing Tree (1976), marking 50 years since its release. One of Georgia’s most visually rich and poetic films, it offers a spectacular mosaic of pre-revolutionary village life, where social conventions, rituals and traditions shape human destiny.

Earlier in the day the festival starts with a screening of Lucky Village (1993), the first Anglo-Georgian feature film. Commissioned by legendary Film4 pioneer David Rose and starring Tim Pigott-Smith, the film is set in a psychiatric hospital in sniper-torn Tbilisi.

Friday 2 October — New Voices and a Georgian Classic

Friday brings three UK premieres.

9-Month Contract (2025) is an award-winning documentary exploring surrogacy in Georgia through an intimate portrait of a single mother and her teenage daughter.

The Kartli Kingdom (2025) arrives following its success on the international festival circuit and its Best Directing award at IDFA.

The day concludes with a celebration of renowned Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia (1933–2025) and the first UK big-screen presentation of his 1977 comic gem, Samanishvili’s Stepmother 

Pirosmani

Saturday 3 October — Village, Memory and Identity

Saturday features the International Premiere of Early Winter’s Sorrow (2025), a compelling portrait of a remote Georgian village struggling to survive the encroachments of the modern world while facing harassment from Russian soldiers.

We also present Pirosmani (1969), a cinematic tribute to Georgia’s greatest painter, celebrated for its ‘primitive magic and striking art direction’.

Songs of Georgia (2009) takes audiences on a unique musical journey through Georgia’s diverse regions and cultural traditions, some of them thousands of years old. 

High in the remote mountains of present-day Tusheti, the UK Premiere Placekeepers (2025) offers an atmospheric glimpse into the lives of the few people who remain year-round in this rugged, semi-nomadic region.

Placekeepers

Sunday 4 October — Closing Day

The final day begins with Otar Iosseliani’s early masterpiece Pastorale (1975), which captures the clash between a Tbilisi string quartet and a rural village community.

Next comes the acclaimed 2025 feature Dry Leaf, followed by an exclusive Q&A with director Alexandre Koberidze.

The festival’s Closing Film is a further tribute to Eldar Shengelaia (1993-2025) with his debut Georgian feature, The White Caravan (1963), a poetic exploration of the tension between traditional rural life and the forces of modernity. 

Dry Leaf

9-day intensive Workshop with Nana Ekvtimishvili and Alexandre Koberidze Together with the Georgian Film Institute (GFI), Life Through Cinema is holding a workshop 
Shared Frames, pairing Georgian and Ukrainian filmmakers, students and enthusiasts to produce 3 – 5 minute short films over 9 days, which will be screened on the closing night of the London Georgian Film Festival.