Village Tobanieri / Село Тобаниери

Credits

Director	Vakhtang Zhorzholiani
Director	Pavel Tsyplenkov
Scriptwriter	Vakhtang Zhorzholiani
Scriptwriter	Pavel Tsyplenkov
Producer	Vakhtang Zhorzholiani
Producer	Pavel Tsyplenkov
Editor	Vakhtang Zhorzholiani
Editor	Pavel Tsyplenkov
Sound Designer	Vakhtang Zhorzholiani
Sound Designer	Pavel Tsyplenkov

Biography

Vakhtang Zhorzholiani was born on January 7, 1995, in the city of Moscow. In 2010 he entered the Medical College in Moscow, where he studied for 3 years. From 2013 to 2014 he studied Chinese at Lanzhou University (China). Since 2015 he is a student of Moscow Institute of Radio and Television Ostankino (MITRO), the directing Faculty, under the leadership of Vladimir Menshov (a well-known Russian film director and winner of the Oscar) and Vladimir Tumaev.

Biography

Pavel Tsyplenkov was born in 1997 in Moscow. Since 2015 he has been studying at Radio and Television Ostankino (MITRO), the directing Faculty, under the leadership of Vladimir Menshov (a well-known Russian film director and winner of the Oscar) and Vladimir Tumaev.

Directors Statement

Despite the fact, that I am Georgian, I lived in Moscow all my life, and, honestly, I have not even learned the Georgian language. Only occasionally, quite a while, I came to a small Georgian village, which was called Tobanieri, and so I could not fully understand what this place is, and why the people there are so different from the others. I wanted to catch and capture in my mind those atmosphere, those faces and eyes, to understand people, who have a completely different look at the world. But, nevertheless, from time to time, a chance to do it was slipping away from me. It's so hard to pass through yourself a foreign way of life, foreign traditions and views. And then I realized, that the only chance to get to the most intimate and secret - is to make a film about this place. To make it so that others can see what I saw. And we went with my friend to the same village, located near the majestic mountains, and started shooting our film. And in the end we have understood... Despite the friendliness, hospitality and spontaneity, the infinite sadness was always in the air, and material poverty was close to spiritual wealth. This duality had flourished in everything and everywhere. Humility frozen on the people's faces. The ancient traditions were wrapped up in destroyed homes, unfulfilled dreams and personal tragedies. Because where life is a warm and thriving, nearby, hiding, death is waiting quietly in the wings.