Corn Island

Director: George Ovashvili

Cast: Ilyas Salman, Tamer Levent, Mariam Buturishvili

Cinematography: Elemér Ragályi

The Inguri River forms a natural border dividing Georgia and the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia. Every spring the river brings fertile soil from the Caucasus down to the plains, creating tiny islands: small clusters of no man’s land. Our story begins when an old Abkhaz farmer sets foot on one of the islands. The old man builds a hut for him and his teenage granddaughter, he ploughs the earth and together they sow corn. As his granddaughter blossoms into womanhood and the corn ripens, the old man is confronted by the inescapable cycle of life. Hungarian cinematographer Elemér Ragályi's artful compositions set the stage for this slow-paced, almost wordless drama.

Corn Island has been selected as the Georgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Academy Awards, and won the Crystal Globe prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Awards: Crytal Globe-award - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (2014)