The collapse of the USSR has not brought the promised riches to Guria in western Georgia. The electricity supply is erratic, while policemen steal trolleybus cables to sell as scrap. Hazelnut farmer Zuriko refuses the meagre sums offered by Italian buyers for his harvest. His best friend, Gela, helps him secure his livelihood and introduces him to potential wives, but they inevitably fail to meet the approval of Zuriko’s mother-in-law. After being mugged, Zuriko begins courting the village music teacher, while his son is heartbroken when the girl he loves is ‘kidnapped’ to be married to his rival.
“Guria is about ordinary people who live under harsh conditions yet manage to preserve their humanity. They are far from perfect – in fact, they often behave quite badly. But they are capable of friendship and empathy. They cry, they laugh, they shout, they fight, they love – and in our increasingly sterile times, that already means a lot.” (Levan Koguashvili)
Levan Koguashvili
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1973, Koguashvili studied at the State Institute of Film and Theatre in Tbilisi before continuing his education at the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. A film director, screenwriter and producer, Koguashvili is widely regarded as one of the leading voices in contemporary Georgian cinema.