Series Site
September 23–October 2, 2026
Georgian cinema is experiencing a remarkable renaissance. Over the past fifteen years, filmmakers from Georgia have earned acclaim at major international festivals, including the Berlinale, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, and IDFA (Amsterdam). This creative flourishing, however, exists in stark contrast to the increasingly repressive political environment in Georgia since the ascent of an authoritarian government in 2024. Independent filmmakers now face severe threats to their freedom of expression and the basic conditions necessary for financing, producing, and exhibiting films domestically, including those perceived as critical of the government.
Georgian Cinema Now will be presented in installments over the course of the coming year, offering an unprecedented opportunity to experience the power, artistry, and urgency of contemporary Georgian filmmaking at a time when it is most at risk. Through screenings, conversations, scholarship, and international collaboration, the project will deepen public understanding of Georgia’s cultural landscape and highlight the essential role of independent artists in societies where democratic freedoms are threatened. A delegation of nine filmmakers and experts will visit the San Francisco Bay Area for ten days in late September, creating a festival-like launch for this ongoing retrospective.
Georgian Cinema Now is a follow-up to BAMPFA’s Discovering Georgian Cinema (2014–15), developed with the Museum of Modern Art and cocurated with the late Jytte Jensen, which traced a century of Georgian film history and toured to four cities in North America.
—Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator