Svaneti International Film Festival – “Dali”
Location: Mestia, Svaneti, Georgia
Dates: 08.09.2025 – 13.09.2025 (5th Edition)
Participants: 50
International Guests: 15
Link to the website: svanetifilmfestival.com
General Info:
From September 8th to 13th, Mestia hosted the 5th Svaneti International Film Festival. The Svaneti International Film Festival “Dali,” founded in 2021 by director Mariam Khatchvani and a producer Teimuraz Chkhvimiani, has become one of the most significant events in the country’s cultural life. The festival has established itself as an integral part of the global film festival circuit and annually welcomes guests from Georgia and around the world.
By the decision of the festival jury, two outstanding projects were awarded in the “Work in Progress” competition section — director Tengiz Asitashvili’s Tragedy Without a Hero and
director Edmond Minashvili’s The Land of Flowers. The winners received monetary prizes from Creative Georgia and the Georgian Public Broadcaster.
For his contribution to cinema, the festival’s special prize was awarded to actor Zurab Kipshidze.
Telavi International Short Film Festival – Golden Grape
Location: Telavi, Shida Kartli Region, Georgia
Dates: 01.09.2025 – 05.09.2025 (4th Edition)
Participants: 75
International Guests: 45
Link to the website: filmfreeway.com/GoldenGrapes
General Info:
On October 5–7, the city of Telavi proudly hosted the GOLDEN GRAPE 2025 Short Film Festival, celebrating the very best in short-form storytelling from around the world.
Founded in 2022, the festival began as a local Georgian event and quickly grew into an international platform that welcomes submissions from across the globe. The program features short fiction, animation, and documentary films, as well as student works and special retrospective screenings as part of its non-competitive section.
This year, the competition was held across four main categories — Short Fiction Film, Short Documentary Film, Short Animation Film, and Student Films — with over 65 films from 35
countries, created between 2023 and 2025, screened across 11 sessions. The winners were selected by an esteemed international jury in more than 12 award categories.
GOLDEN GRAPES 2025: Award Winners
Fiction Category
• Best Fiction Film: Pasta Negra (Canada, Colombia, Italy, Venezuela) — Jorge Thielen Armand
• Best Fiction Director: Three Keenings (United Kingdom) — Samuel Flückiger
• Best Fiction Script: As It Was (Poland) — Damian Kocur & Anastasia Solonevych
• Best Fiction Sound: Tragedy Without A Hero (Georgia) — Revaz Nasidze
• Special Mention: Out of Tune (Iran) — Vahid Mazraeh
Documentary Category
• Best Documentary Film: On Plains of Larger River & Woodlands (Portugal) — Miguel de Jesus
• Best Documentary Director: Moments of Danger (Argentina) — Santiago Canción
• Best Documentary Script: The Unlimited World – Apeiron Peri Kosmou (Austria, Portugal) — Lukas Berger
• Best Documentary Sound: ASPIS (Italy) — Antonio Romagnoli
• Special Mention: Ezda (Canada) — Halime Akturk
Animation Category
• Best Animation Film: Family Portrait (Croatia) — Lea Vidakovic
• Best Experimental Animation: A Lover’s Discourse (Japan) — Pang Wen
• Best Animation Script: My Good Boy (Italy) — Sara Priorelli
• Best Animation Sound: On Weary Wings Go By (Estonia, Lithuania) — Anu-Laura Tuttelberg
Student Category
• Best Student Film: The Silk Handkerchief (Turkey) — Ömer Korman
• Best Student Director: Liosza (Poland) — Miłosz Jan Sawicki
• Best Student Script: Leaving (Georgia) — Elene Shekhlashvili
• Best Student Sound: Bugsick (Canada) — Venya Aggarwal
• Best Georgian Student Film: The Gangster (Georgia) — Sandro Saginadze
This year’s festival reaffirmed Telavi’s role as a growing hub for cinematic creativity and international collaboration. The organizers express heartfelt gratitude to all participating filmmakers, jury members, and audiences for making the Golden Grapes 2025 an unforgettable celebration of short film art.
Batumi International Sports Film Festival “NIKE”
Location: Batumi, Adjara, Georgia
Dates: 06.09.2025 – 12.09.2025 (1st Edition)
Participants: 65
International Guests: 8
Link to the website: facebook.com/BatumiFilmFestival
General Info:
The coastal city of Batumi, Georgia’s second-largest urban center, became the new home of the World FICTS Challenge with the Batumi International Sports Film Festival “NIKE”, held
on September 6–12, 2025.
Founded by Georgian cinematographers — film director Maia Archvadze, film producer Zurab Khutsishvili, and film critic and journalist Natia Khorbaladze - the festival aims to celebrate and promote world and Georgian sports cinema. Its mission is to introduce audiences to new, artistically significant works in global and national sports filmmaking, explore contemporary trends in the field, and encourage the development of sports-themed cinema in Georgia.
Throughout the festival week, visitors enjoyed professional meetings, master classes, retrospectives, and networking sessions connecting Georgian and international filmmakers, athletes, and sports enthusiasts.
An innovative feature of the festival invited participating filmmakers to showcase their films on the Public Broadcaster of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, where viewers could vote
through an interactive audience survey. The most popular film received a special Audience Choice Award.
The Closing Ceremony, held on September 12, celebrated remarkable achievements in sports cinema.
Festival Winners – Batumi International Sports Film Festival “Nike” 2025
• Best Short Film – White Grass — Director: Luka Bachaliashvili
• Special Jury Diploma – Mary, the Footballer from Sokhumi — Director: Enemeo Sidiani | Screenwriter: Nana Kardava
• Best Documentary Film – From Bern to Berlin — Director: Manfred Oldenburg
• Best Fiction Film – One More Approval — Director: Karoly Palfai
• Alexander Zhghenti Prize – Tokyo Giant: The Story of Viktor Starfin — Director: Chavdar Georgiev
• Nana Mchedlidze Prize – The Other Side of the Medal — Director: Ana Maximi
• Special Jury Prize – Homeland – Georgia, Wrestling – Georgian — Author and Producer: Giorgi Shiukashvili
• Grand Prix – Beckenbauer, The Last Kaiser — Director: Torsten Körner
In addition, the Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Davit Patsatsia, presented a special award to director Enemeo Sidiani for Mary, the
Footballer from Sokhumi. The Georgian Film Academy Prize was awarded to From Bern to Berlin by Manfred Oldenburg.
Lifetime Achievement Awards in Georgian Sports Cinema were presented to:
• Mikheil Chiaureli, film director – for his contribution to Georgian sports filmmaking
• Revaz Makhatadze, cinematographer and director of the “Mematiane” studio – for preserving Georgia’s sports film heritage
• Beno Kashakashvili, renowned Georgian alpinist – for his outstanding contribution to the development of Georgian sports and sports cinema
The International Jury was chaired by Marina Kereselidze and included:
• Irakli Papava, Deputy Chair
• Arsen Arakelyan, film director
• Mikheil Chiaureli, screenwriter, director, and producer
• Giga Gventsadze, President of the Georgian Sports Journalists’ Association
The Batumi International Sports Film Festival “Nike” 2025 successfully showcased the power of sport as both cinematic art and cultural expression, strengthening Batumi’s place on the
global map of sports film festivals.
International Animation Film Festival Nikozi
Location: Village Nikozi, Kakheti Region, Georgia
Dates: 01.09.2025 – 07.09.2025 (12th Edition)
Participants: 57
International Guests: 28
Link to the website: nikozifestival.ge
General Info:
From September 1–7, 2025, the border village of Nikozi hosted the 12th International Animation Film Festival “Nikozi”, bringing together filmmakers, students, and animation lovers from Georgia and abroad.
The festival was supported by the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia, Creative Georgia, the Georgian National Film Center, the Gori Municipality, and the
Embassy of Japan in Georgia. International partners included the Lisbon Animation Film Festival “Monstra”, the World Festival of Animated Film “Animafest Zagreb”, the Dresden
International Short Film Festival, and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The festival showcased works from members of the Georgian Animators’ Association “Saqanima”, featuring films by Nika Mchedlidze, Ia Gigolashvili, Elene Tavadze, Mariam Kortua, David and Giorgi Papuashvili, Ia Khizanishvili, Nino Tskitishvili, Goga Osephashvili, Giorgi Tskhvediani, Tamar Kuchava, Nikoloz Gagloshvili, Salome Turashvili, Dea Nadiradze, Nino Kobalia, Elene Tamliashvili, Tata Managadze, and Dato Sikharulidze.
The program also featured a student film showcase from the European Humanities University in Lithuania, curated by director Irina Kodyukova, who personally presented the selection.
Additional screenings included works by Anita Killi (Norway), Andrei Voineg and Ioana Nikoara (Romania), Mikhail Bogutski, Adriana Matviychuk, and Julia Markhovska (Poland), as well as a short film program from Croatia presented by Margit Antauer.
Audiences were treated to films from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (Germany), the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg (Germany), Yuan Shui’s films from China, Tsagil Harmandar’s works from Japan, and a special selection from the Dresden Festival. In total, 178 films were screened.
The program also included a documentary film by Metropolitan Isaiah and a ceramics exhibition highlighting local artistry.
Complementing the screenings was a rich cultural program, featuring classical music concerts, performances by the “Sakhioba” Ensemble, musical compositions by Samuel Gottlieb, the
“Rikhi” Choir, a piano concert by Tamar Zhvania, and a performance by the Gori Women’s Choir led by Teona Tsiramua.
The festival hosted 28 international guests, reaffirming Nikozi’s growing reputation as a unique meeting point for animation, culture, and peacebuilding through art.
Mestia International Short and Mountain Film Festival
Location: Mestia, Svaneti Region, Georgia
Dates: 29.07.2025 – 03.08.2025 (5th Edition)
Participants: 18
International Guests: 13
Link to the website: mestiaff.com
General Info:
From July 28 to August 3, 2025, the town of Mestia, nestled 1,500 meters above sea level in the Caucasus Mountains, hosted the Mestia International Short and Mountain Film Festival,
founded by the Mestia Center of Culture and Arts NNLE and filmmaker/producer Khatuna Khundadze. This festival is the first in Georgia to combine short films with mountain-themed feature films, providing a unique platform for both local and international cinema.
The festival program included four sections: International Short Films, International Mountain Films, Retrospectives of Georgian Shorts, and a Special Section. Highlights included a
masterclass on immersive art by Elie Levasseur, Head of the Immersive Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and screenings of films from 16 countries.
The International Jury was chaired by Georgian filmmaker Rusudan Glurjidze and included directors and producers from Georgia, France, Germany, and Italy.
2025 Festival Awards:
• Grand Prix & Broadcast Prize: Tragedy Without a Hero (Georgia)
• Best Mountain Film: The Final Summit – Sophie Lavaud (France)
• Best Short Film: Jolanda Walks Alone (Colombia)
• Jury Special Prize: The End of the Day (Egypt) & Gulls Above Golgotha (Armenia)
• Special Prize for Best Acting: Avtandil Makharadze, Full of Emptiness (Georgia)
• Special Mention – Mountain Film: Paydos (Turkey)
• Special Mention – Short Film: The First Break (India)
The festival also awarded Best Film Score and Best Production Design, honoring the artistry behind the screen. With its scenic venue at the Mestia Center of Culture and Arts, the festival
combined breathtaking mountain views with world-class cinema, celebrating both film and the spirit of the mountains.
The organizers congratulated all winners and expressed gratitude to the filmmakers, guests, and jury members who contributed to a successful 2025 edition.
