Cinema
ფიროსმანი
Giorgi Shengelaia · 1969
Synopsis
Niko Pirosmani leaves his village of Mirzaani for Tiflis, where he is first a railway ticket inspector, then runs a shop with a friend, which he ruins by not making the poor pay. He then begins to paint signboards for the city's taverns, exchanging his canvases for a meal or a drink, until the painters of Tiflis take an interest in what he does and look for him.
Context
The director had already devoted a short documentary to this painter in 1961 before returning to him in fiction, and would devote a third film to him much later. He gave the title role to Avto Varazi, himself a painter, who also designed the film's sets and never acted in any other; the screenplay was written with Erlom Akhvlediani, the cinematography is by Levan Paatashvili and the music by Nodar Gabunia. The approach is never to explain its subject: the camera stays still, at the height of a painting, and lets the composition do the work.
Who it is for
Eighty-one minutes, spoken in Georgian, Russian and French. It helps to know what Pirosmani's paintings look like, which the film quotes without ever showing them.
Prizes and reception
Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival in 1973, Grand Prix at the Chicago festival in 1974, and prize for best biographical film at Asolo the same year.