Cinema Releases - Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry

15 March 2024

Etero, a 48-year-old woman living in a small village in Georgia, never wanted a husband. She cherishes her freedom as much as her cakes. But her choice to live alone is the cause of much gossip among her fellow villagers. Unexpectedly, she finds herself passionately falling for a man, and is suddenly faced with the decision to pursue a relationship or continue a life of independence. Etero must grapple with her feelings and decide how to find her own path to happiness.

Elene Naveriani Director

Filmography Selected

Elene Naveriani is a Georgian director now living in Switzerland. They graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Art in monumental painting in 2003. After a Master in Critical Curatorial Cybermedia at the HEAD – Geneva (Geneva School of Art and Design), they started their studies in Cinema. Their graduation short film GOSPEL OF ANASYRMA (2014) was acclaimed for their distinctive signature and stance.

Elene’s work is one that makes invisible stories visible, that makes unheard voices heard and creates a space for marginalised lives. Elene practises a cinema of resistance.

Their first feature I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH (2017) premiered in Rotterdam and was awarded numerous prizes (Seoul, Xining, Valladolid, Porto). Elene also directed two further short films that received a lot of acclaim. RED ANTS BITE (2019) was nominated for best Swiss short film award and LANTSKY PAPA’S STOLEN OX (2018), a short documentary, premiered in Entrevues Belfort and won the Grand Prix Best Short. The film was also awarded in Tbilisi and Documenta Madrid.

In 2021, their second feature film WET SAND made its World Premiere in Locarno in August 2021 and earned the Best Actor’s Prize. Elene is currently developing two further feature projects.

WET SAND, fiction, 115min (2021). 74° Locarno Film Festival – Pardo for Best Actor (Concorso Cineasti del presente), Viennale – Vienna International Film Festival 2021, Santiago de Compostela, Cineuropa 35, 28^th Sarajevo Film Festival, San Francisco, 65th San Francisco International Film Festival, Solothurner Filmtage – Best Feature Film

RED ANTS BITE, fiction, 22min (2019). 23. International Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, 49th International Film Festival Rotterdam, Saguenay 24ème REGARD – Festival international du court-métrage, 26th Palm Springs International ShortFest, 34th Leeds International Film Festival, 18th Bogota Short Film Festival, Encounters Bristol – Special Mention 2020, Brest European short film festival – Departmental Council Award 2020

LANTSKY PAPA’S STOLEN OX, documentary, 29min (2018). Entrevues Belfort, Grand Prix Best Short, Tbilisi International Film Festival – Best Documentary, Documenta Madrid – Jury Mention in International Short Film Competition

I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH, fiction, 61min (2017). 52. Solothurner Filmtage, 46th InternationalFilm F estival Rotterdam, 41a Mostra Internacional del Cinema de Sao Paulo, Tbilisi International Film Festival, Valladolid / Seminci, Best Photography Award, 32e Entrevues Belfort, Special Mention Prix du Long métrage Janine Bazin, 30ème Festival Premiers Plans d’Angers

GOSPEL OF ANASYRMA, fiction, 29min (2014). Festival Tous Ecrans – Festival international du film de Genève, 27e Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers, Kyiv International Short Film Festival KISFF 2015, Lisbon, 12th International Independent Film Festival Lisboa, Tel Aviv, 17th International Student Film Festival, Prix du public – XPosed Berlin

100% Rotten Tomatoes!!!

"A stoically independent Georgian woman in her late 40s experiences a gentle existential awakening during an affair with a local deliveryman in Elene Naveriani's offbeat, low-key drama. Naveriani has given us a most unusual feminist heroine, one experiencing the mischievous, rarely seen triumph of a woman coming into bloom just as those around her are beginning to fade: the last and sweetest blackberry on the bush."
Jessica Kiang, Variety

"The deliciously wry, gently unfurling tale of a middle-aged Georgian woman who rejects small-town conformity and experiments with love after a near-death experience."
Carmen Gray, The Film Verdict

"A rich character study of a strong willed woman who relishes her independence...Georgian filmmaker Elene Naveriani solidifies her gravitational pull towards examining rural social misfits with her elegant sophomore film."
Nicholas Bell, ION Cinema

"A striking ode to female independence...
In the past decade or so, the country of Georgia has produced many raw and powerful films from women directors examining the country's modern women as they seek their newfound independence. Elene Naveriani's romantic drama is a striking new entry to this film movement, anchored by a fierce and sensual performance from star Eka Chavleishvili."
Marya E. Gates, The Playlist

"A work of incredible depth, intelligent and intuitive, which can teach us a thing or two about finding pleasure in life, even if we think that ship has sailed.
A film as charming as its title suggests. At times contemplative and always exploratory...tells a bittersweet love story in order to present a much sweeter one of self-love."
Savina Petkova, Cineuropa

"Like its protagonist, the spellbinding sensibilities of “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry” are a treat to behold."
Chavleishvili plays the commanding Etero with a dry wit, a piercing gaze, and an uncommon sensitivity. The film’s final shot, a knockout scene happy to exist in the liminal space between
Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com (end of article)

"The promise of romance changes everything in Blackbird, Blackbird,Blackberry, the third feature from Elena Naveriani which paints an endearing, bittersweet portrait of an independent woman at the mercy of society’s entrenched expectations. An irresistible central performance from Eka Chavleishvili adds to the appeal of a film that should readily connect with audiences who embraced titles like Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria (2013)."
Allan Hunter, Screen International

Top ^

CAST

ETERO	Eka Chavleishvili
MURMAN	Temiko Chinchinadze
NENO	Pikria Nikabadze
TSISANA	Anka Khurtsidze
LONDA	Tamar Mdinaradze
NATELA	Lia Abuladze

CREW

DIRECTOR	Elene Naveriani
BASED ON THE BOOK BY	Tamta Melashvili
ADAPTED FOR SCREEN BY	Nikoloz Mdivani
	Elene Naveriani
PRODUCTION COMPANIES	Alva Film (CH)
	Takes Film (GE)
PRODUCERS	Thomas Reichlin
	Britta Rindelaub
	Ketie Daniela
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER	Bettina Brokemper
	(HEIMATFILM)
CINEMATOGRAPHER	Agnesh Pakozdi
EDITOR	Aurora Franco Vögeli
PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER	Marc Von Stürler
SOUND DESIGNER AND MIXER	Philippe Ciompi
PRODUCTION DESIGN	Teo Baramidze
COSTUME DESIGNER	Nino Injia
HAIR & MAKEUP	Julia Nietlispach

SWITZERLAND / GEORGIA
(FLAT 1:85) (5.1, AND STEREO)
2023 - 110 MIN - (In Georgian)