Mzis qalaqi
City of the Sun
Einst wurden in den Minen Tschiaturas bis zu 50 Prozent der weltweiten Manganproduktion gefördert. Heute wirkt der westgeorgische Ort wie eine Geisterstadt. Mzis qalaqi porträtiert einige verbliebene Einwohner: Musiklehrer Zurab zerlegt marode Betonbauten, um mit den Eisenträgern ein Zubrot zu verdienen. Archil arbeitet noch im Bergwerk, seine Leidenschaft gilt jedoch einer Laientheatergruppe. Zwei junge Athletinnen trainieren stoisch für die nächsten Olympischen Spiele. In seinem Debüt lm gibt Regisseur Rati Oneli faszinierende Einblicke in einen Lebensraum, dessen düstere Industrieruinen gewaltig und kulissenhaft zugleich wirken.
Oneli's decision to observe his protagonists, rather than interview them, results in a feeling of familiarity, as if they had invited him to accompany them through their lives. The extraordinary amount of trust evident in the film must have come from his sincere dedication to telling their stories after spending ten months in Chiatura, so their sense of humour is very much present in the movie. The indi- vidual storylines come together to create a picture of life in Chiatura, and the approach to the selection of images, as well as the film's title, make it clear that the town is as much the subject of the film as the characters. (Zuzanna Grajcer, Cineuropa)
Director's Biography
Rati Oneli
Born in 1977 in Tbilisi, Georgia, he earned a Master’s degree in Middle East studies in Tbilisi and then studied international relations and international media in New York. 2014 he moved to Georgia in order make his first feature-length film “City of the Sun”. In 2016, Rati Oneli produced Dea Kulumbegashvili’s second short film “Lethe”, which had its premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
Film Selection: Mzis qalaqi (City of the Sun, 2017, doc) — Leitmotif (2012, doc short) — Theo (2011, doc short)
Born in 1977 in Tbilisi, Georgia, he earned a Master’s degree in Middle East studies in Tbilisi and then studied international relations and international media in New York. 2014 he moved to Georgia in order make his first feature-length film “City of the Sun”. In 2016, Rati Oneli produced Dea Kulumbegashvili’s second short film “Lethe”, which had its premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
Film Selection: Mzis qalaqi (City of the Sun, 2017, doc) — Leitmotif (2012, doc short) — Theo (2011, doc short)
Competition Documentary 2018
Rati Oneli
Georgien / USA / Katar / Niederlande 2017
color
100 Minuten
Georgisch OmeU
Drehbuch Dea Kulumbegashvili, Rati Oneli
Kamera Arseni Khachaturan
Schnitt Ramiro Suarez
Ton/Sounddesign Sofia Matrosova, Alexey Kobzar
Mit Zurab Gelashvili, Archil Khvedelidze, Mariam Pkhaladze, Irina Pkhaladze
Produzent*innen Dea Kulumbegashvili, Rati Oneli, Jim Stark
Produktion
OFA / Office of Film Architecture
Österreichpremiere
Weltpremiere / World PremiereBerlinale 2017
Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere
