The Valley of Bojromi is one the most beautiful valleys in the Republic of Georgia, rich with mineral wells. This quiet area becomes stirred up by the news about a huge oil pipeline of British Petroleum, planned to stretch from Caspian to Mediterranean Seas. A large portion of its will be passing through Georgia and its giant pipes will affect the landscape near the poor, muddy village of Sakiré. Without a narrator, the director’s camera is feeling the villagers’ pulse. He interviews people in the street, who talk about threats to their health, corrupt government, and, most of all, about the monetary compensation they would receive from the British Petroleum. The latter issue is a complex one, because the property relations in the village are far from transparent. The atmosphere is becoming more and more stirred up and is turning into a chaos and a conflict between the representatives of the BP and the villagers. In the end, will the pipeline drive them apart, or will it lead to prosperity and welfare? This warm human comedy will give you the answer to that.
Nino Kirtadzé
European Film Academy-award-winning director Nino Kirtadze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. She is one of the few Georgian directors who made her cinematic debut in France and quickly established herself as one of the best documentary directors worldwide. She focuses on controversial subjects, placing the accent on the human drama and creating deep insightful human portraits. Her films have won international acclaim and numerous prestigious prizes at festivals worldwide, including Best Director Prize at Sundance for Durakovo - Village of Fools, the European Film Academy award for Pipeline Next Door, Germany’s top documentary award, the Adolf Grimme Gold, for Chechen Lullaby and the Cinema du Réel award for Tell My Friends That I’m Dead. Her films have been presented at top world festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, IDFA and RIDM. Nino Kirtadze is also a scriptwriter and actress. During the troubled years in the Caucasus in 1990s she also worked as a war correspondent for the AFP and for the AP, covering the war in Chechnya and other armed conflicts in the region. Since 1997, Nino Kirtadze has been living in France and working with Peter Brook, Ben Gazzara, Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Pierre Ameris and Claude Goretta. She works on a regular basis with different national and international organisations and film schools as a consultant, jury, lecturer and tutor.
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Un dragon dans les eaux pures du Caucase
France
2005, 90', color
Directed by:
Nino Kirtadzé
Screenplay by:
Nino Kirtadze
Cinematography:
Nino Kirtadze
Edited by:
Isabel Lorente
Music:
Gio Tsintsadze
Producer:
Dominique Tibi
Produced by:
Roche Productions, ARTE France
