Welcome to CinéDOC-Tbilisi 2020

Hybrid Edition… 

How can film festivals survive? How can we adapt to the new reality of 2020? How can we re-define film festivals without crowded cinemas, without vibrant Q&A sessions with international guests, without the dialogue between filmmakers and the audience or without masterclasses and networking events where large groups of creative people enjoyed each other’s presence? 

This year is different for all of us. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was extremely high on cultural public events, such as festivals, most of them getting cancelled or postponed. 

Since January until mid-March 2020, we had worked intensively for the preparation of the eight edition of CinéDOC-Tbilisi (initially scheduled for 23 – 27 April 2020). By mid-March all films were selected, all jury members and international guests invited; almost all venues and cinemas reserved, and all festival events planned. Everything was almost ready… 

However, our plans where changed suddenly, disrupting our final preparation 

activities. We had to react very quickly. for public health and safety reasons, we postponed the festival. It was not easy… not easy for our team, not easy for the filmmakers who were eager to travel to Georgia or for the Georgian filmmakers who had worked many years on their documentaries and were looking forward to their national premiere… but safety came first. 

Nevertheless, we have soon started thinking of online solutions and alternative ways of continuing our work. We have adapted to an unprecedented situation and we have found a solution: our festival will take place in a hybrid format this year. Some of the selected films will be screened in open-air settings: for example, in the CAVEA drive-in cinema close to the Lisi Lake or in the inner yard of the Caucasian House, in Tbilisi. These screenings allow for social distancing and safety. If you miss any of these screenings, you still have the chance to watch wonderful documentaries online (directly on our website via the platform DAFilms) or on the Georgian Public Broadcaster (in August 2020). 

Our regional coordinators had to adapt to the new situation too: some of them organized online film screenings, others outdoor screenings. Luckily many of our regional coordinators were so innovative that they have screened on walls of buildings or in open-air wrestling arenas. Mini festivals in the regions of Georgia will also take place this year, in spite of the pandemic: in Dusheti, Gori, Sagarejo Chkhorotsku and Marneuli. 

“We do emotions” is the slogan of our festival! And we really hope that all the wonderful documentaries of this year’s festival selection will be the source of strong emotions in each one of you! We want to reach you with all films… be it in a beautiful open-air setting during a warm September evening or, at home, with family and friends. 

Creative documentaries should be more and more accessible, despite everything and this is what we try to do in this different year. 

Enjoy CinéDOC-Tbilisi 2020!

Ileana Stanculescu & Artchil Khetagouri