BLUE MOUNTAINS: Eldar Shengelaia Tribute at FOMO Cinema Tbilisi
Thursday 11. June at 18:30 - 20:05
FOMO Secret Cinema, Tbilisi
This week I'm celebrating actors, directors, editors and artists who are no longer with us, but whose work continues to shape the films we watch and love. Some became icons. Others worked quietly behind the camera. Together, they helped make cinema what it is today.
Eldar Shengelaia remains one of the most beloved figures in Georgian cinema, and BLUE MOUNTAINS, OR UNBELIEVABLE STORY is widely regarded as his masterpiece. He sadly passed last August at the age of 92.
Eldar Shengelaia | 1983 | Georgia (USSR) | 1h35m | Presented in the original Georgian and Russian audio with English subtitles
Every time I watch BLUE MOUNTAINS I'm amazed by how contemporary it feels. On paper it's a comedy about a publishing house. In practice it's one of the funniest films ever made about a bureaucracy that has completely forgotten its purpose.
The story begins when a writer submits a manuscript called Blue Mountains. What should be a simple publishing decision turns into an endless bureaucratic nightmare. Editors misplace the manuscript. Meetings are held. Committees are formed. People discuss the book without reading it. Others promise to read it and never do. Entire departments seem to exist purely to delay decisions. The manuscript drifts from desk to desk while everyone remains busy doing almost everything except their actual jobs.
What I love about the film is that Shengelaia never treats the situation as extraordinary. Nobody behaves as though anything is wrong. The absurdity emerges from how normal everyone finds it. The publishing house becomes its own self-sustaining ecosystem where process has entirely replaced purpose.
Although it was made during the Soviet era, the film feels less like political satire than a universal comedy about group think and decision making by committee. Anyone who has worked in a large organisation, dealt with endless administration, or waited weeks for a reply that should have taken five minutes will recognise the world immediately.
I'm also familiar with many of the locations where BLUE MOUNTAINS was shot. If you'd like to know where they are, ask me when you come to see the film.
FOOD AND DRINK POLICY: FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar opens 1 hour before the first screening of the day and closes at 02:00,.serving a wide selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic refreshments including coffee and tea, as well as fresh hot popcorn! Outside food is allowed in the bar but not in the cinema. No alcohol from outside allowed. All guests are invited to arrive early and stay late!
LOCATION: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
HOW TO FIND FOMO: Enter Bazari Orbeliani via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left to Level 1. Signage on the door. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTMzMTA2Mjk0MDI5MjM1
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
