Cinema
პირველი მერცხალი
Nana Mchedlidze · 1975
Synopsis
Poti, at the beginning of the century, in the days of the Empire. Seeing men run after a ball, Khvitcha understands the game and decides to set up his own team. He needs a pitch, players and the means to withstand mockery; the team, which he names the First Swallow, trains relentlessly and begins to win everything it plays. Then an English ship enters the port.
Context
The screenplay is by Levan Tchélidzé, with the participation of the director; the cinematography is by Guiorgui Tchélidzé and the music by Djansoug Kakhidzé. Dodo Abachidzé, Vakhtang Nadaraïa, Ipolité Khvitchia and Gouram Lortkipanidzé play the main roles, and Boris Païtchadzé, the country's most famous footballer, appears on screen as himself. It is its director's second film, who had begun fifteen years earlier with a short filmed story presented as a graduation work.
Who it is for
A comedy in Georgian, with no French release. You need to know that Georgia discovered football at the very beginning of the twentieth century and that it quickly became a national passion there.
Prizes and reception
Special jury prize and acting prize at the Tehran festival in 1975, the city of Oberhausen's major prize and the diploma of the international critics in 1977.