Levan Koguashvili’s tragicomedy “Guria,” starring Zuriko, will premiere at the Venice Film Festival’s Spotlight section on September 9. The black-and-white film, set in the Guria region of western Georgia, follows a 45-year-old widower and farmer as he navigates love and the challenges of selling hazelnuts.
The film is a co-production involving Georgia’s Kino Iberica, Switzerland’s Cineworx, Luxembourg’s Tarantula, and Bulgaria’s ArtFest. Financial support also comes from Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Norway’s SoRFond Film Fund, and Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund. Koguashvili’s previous works include “Street Days” (2010), “Blind Dates” (2013), and “Brighton 4th” (2021).
Koguashvili explained the extensive co-production was driven by financing needs. “Basically, the idea of bringing in so many parties came from financing. We had to look for many co-producers. In our case, you get a little bit of money from different places,” he said. He acknowledged the logistical challenges of managing a multi-national production but highlighted the benefits of an “international crew,” including a sound engineer from Switzerland and an editor from Luxembourg. He expressed gratitude that parties were interested in the story and provided support.
The Saudi Arabian co-producers joined the project late in the process, after Koguashvili presented 20 minutes of footage at the Red Sea industry park and received awards. “We were still raising money for some pickup shoots, and…that’s how the Saudi co-producers came on board. It was a really great help, at the very last moment.”
“Guria” was co-written by Koguashvili and Boris Frumin, his former NYU professor. Koguashvili described their collaborative process: “I bring the material, Georgian scenes, life situations, characters, protagonists, and we discuss what to do with it, how to connect the story.” He emphasized the importance of strong, cinematic scenes, while Frumin excels at story structure and logic. “He’s very much a teacher in that sense, about the logic of story development, and that’s what I learned from him,” Koguashvili said.
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