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Curated Program: What Lights up the Night?

September 25 - October 30, 2023


Creating spaces for reflection and thoughts on political cinema is of critical importance now, in the light of the crisis in Georgian culture, as violent systems and authorities of violence are pulling us more and more into the abyss of nihilism and hopelessness.

The inaugural autumn edition of the DOCA Fiilm Club – “What lights up the night?” – brings together films about social justice, oppression, harsh working conditions and the resistance and revolt against exploitative systems.

As the mainstream media reproduces daily the reality drained of hope, we, at DOCA Cinema club, invite you to explore with our invited speakers the possibilities of re-imagining this crisis as the prerequisite for change, and to dive into questions such as: when does the battle become inevitable? How do we counter hopelessness? What can guide us to the light of the day and light up our nights?

Keto Kipiani

Eka Tsotsoria

What Lights up the Night?
September 25 - October 30, 2023

movies
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The screenings of the DOCA Film Club will open with 'Buba' (1930) and 'Cheerless' (1934), the works of the first Georgian female filmmaker, Nutsa Ghoghoberidze, who was no stranger to repression. These highly significant films, deemed as 'formalistic' by the Soviet leadership, were considered lost for decades until they were rediscovered a couple of years ago by filmmaker Lana Ghoghoberidze, the author's daughter, after an extensive search. The script of 'Cheerless' underwent numerous changes to align with the concept of 'socialist realism.' 'Buba,' a somewhat prophetic piece, offers unique insights into the construction of the Shovi resort and the hardship of living in Racha, where locals had to battle harsh natural conditions with their bare hands.

Special guest: Filmmaker Lana Gogoberidze

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Working Man’s Death shows us people working the heaviest of all jobs in Ukraine, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and China, people who nevertheless manage to keep hoping and dreaming of the world beyond their insufferable labour.

The film premiered at Venice Film Festival and was nominated for the best documentary film award at the European Film Academy. The director, renowned Michael Glawogger, tragically died while working on his next film.

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The Cannes Film Festival-winning documentary, Caméra d'Or) 'A Night of Knowing Nothing,' explores the student protest movement that erupted at the Film Institute of India after Narendra Modi appointed a member of his party as the head of the Institute.

Using love letters as the main narrative instrument in the film, we follow the film students' struggle for their political and creative freedom.

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Neptune Frost' is an  Afrofuturistic sci-fi musical that tells the story of the resistance put up by a rebel community. Set against a backdrop of political violence, economic injustice, and cultural alienation, a collective of hackers attempts to overthrow the authoritarian regime and create a space that fosters imagination and solidarity.


The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

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The 'yellow vests' protest movement of autumn 2018 in France continues to be a subject of research and analysis for many scholars as a unique manifestation of collective struggle. Through a parralel editing technique, the director interchangeably portrays cruelties committed against a policeman or by a policeman, raising the question: When the state deems the use of physical force as legitimate and claims a monopoly over it, who is there to control this violence?

The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival.

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It is a debut essay film by the Spanish philosopher and writer Paul B. Preciado, a kind of collective autobiography narrated by the author through the gender transition stories of more than 20 characters in the film.

The film is a bold and cheerful reflection on Virginia Woolf's well-known satirical novel 'Orlando,' in which the main character travels through time at one day wakes up as a woman. Preciado references Woolf's writings through theatrical portrayals and challenges us to re-imagine them from a contemporary and critical lens and with festive lightness, aims to immortalize in history those characters whose stories have not been preserved in the writings of the past.

We would like to thank Amirani cinema for providing the cinema for the Film Club.

Supporters of the curated program

past programs

ახალი ქართული დოკუმენტურები
New Georgian Documentaries
September 16 and 23, 2024
რა მოხდა რუსეთში
Blossom - May, June 2024
გაფურჩქნა
Blossom - March, April, May 2024
პერიფერიული ტრანსფორმაციები
Peripheral Transformations and Memory Spots January - February, 2024
რა გაანათებს ღამეს?
What Lights up the Night?
September 25 - October 30, 2023
რაც დავიწყებით არ იბინდება
History Revisited
November - December, 2023
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