THE MEN’S LAND
Georgia, Hungary | 2025 | 15 min | col. | Svan
According to the customs of a small mountain village in Georgia called Ushguli, for want of a son, the family land must be inherited by the closest male relative, in order for the family name to be perpetuated. Mariam Khatchavani’s short film follows an aspiring singer’s struggle against local traditions and obsolete rules, using her music as a shield against humiliation. An apparently bucolic setting – the highest human settlement in Europe, surrounded by luxuriant valleys – keeps alive this dynamic, which is deeply rooted and widespread in other Balkan and Caucasian areas too, discriminating women in disputes regarding heirlooms although the law upholds the opposite. Family members and fellow villagers remain deaf to the young protagonist’s claims, while the director casts her gaze onto a patriarchal community who proudly claims ownership rights over the land and beyond. (A.S.)
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 06 Nov 2025
- Time: 4:00
Location
- Cinema Astra - Piazza Cesare Beccaria, 9 50121 Florence (FI)
Organizer
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Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani
Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani is a Georgian film director and screenwriter. She graduated from the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University in 2008. Her 2013 short film Dinola was screened at over 300 festivals, including Clermont-Ferrand, and was nominated for a European Film Award. Her debut feature film Dede won the Jury Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and received the UNESCO Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She has participated in Cinéfondation residence de Cannes, Berlinale Talents, Locarno Academy, Sundance Lab, EAVE and etc.
