Wet Sand

When Georgia attained independence in 1991, the country’s film industry began to flourish almost immediately. However, it has been in the last decade and a half that bevy of new voices has emerged, suggesting that we are in the midst of a Georgian New Wave. Following 2017’s acclaimed featurette I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH, Elene Naveriani returns with a downcast but beautifully detailed film about the persistence of love under the shadow of Christian fundamentalism.
WET SAND considers secrets and prejudices in a small, insular village on the Black Sea. Beginning with the death of Eliko, an old man long viewed with suspicion by the other villagers, the seemingly tight-knit community must outwardly acknowledge the rigid conformism their way of life has always tacitly demanded. Following the arrival of Moe, Eliko’s granddaughter from Tbilisi, some of the village’s black sheep – especially Amnon, owner of a popular seaside bar – are no longer able to hide in the shadows.
With its unblinking consideration of violent provincialism, WET SAND recalls the work of Jane Campion and further establishes Naveriani as a talent to watch. (Michael Sicinski)

In the presence of Bebe Sesitashvili, Gia Agumava and Cornelia Seitler (Producer).

Elene Naveriani: LES ÉVANGILES D’ANASYRMA (2014, K), I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH (2017, K), LANTSKY PAPA’S STOLEN OX (2018, K), RED ANTS BITE (2019, K)