THE CAGE IS LOOKING FOR A BIRD Film Screening & Q&A with the Director
Saturday 7. March at 19:30 - 22:30
FOMO Secret Cinema
This special screening will be followed by a live Zoom Q&A with director Malika Musaeva, who will join us to discuss the film and take questions from the audience.
THE CAGE IS LOOKING FOR A BIRD is presented as part of the week-long Independent Film Fest at FOMO Secret Cinema, Tbilisi, showcasing the best emerging filmmaking talent from across the globe.
Malika Musaeva | 2023 | Russia | 1h27m | Chechen language with English subtitles | Q&A in English after the film
Set in a small Chechen village, THE CAGE IS LOOKING FOR A BIRD follows seventeen year old Yakha and her closest friend Madina as they prepare to finish school and imagine lives beyond the boundaries that surround them. Around them, older women negotiate harsher realities. Yakha’s sister Heda seeks a divorce in order to reclaim her autonomy, but the decision threatens her relationship with her young son.
Malika Musaeva is a Chechen filmmaker born in Grozny whose family fled during the Second Chechen War. She studied under Alexander Sokurov and now resides in Germany. That history shapes the film’s perspective. The camera lingers on hills, roads, rooms and faces, creating a sense of openness that contrasts with the social constraints pressing in on the women. Men often exist at the edges of the frame, while female friendships and private conversations form the emotional core. Musaeva avoids sensationalism and instead builds tension through everyday gestures, silences and choices.
The film premiered at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival in the Encounters section and later won the Fiction Grand Award at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva. Its recognition reflects the strength of its human rights focus and its commitment to portraying women’s lives from within their own perspective.
This special screening will be followed by a live Zoom Q&A with director Malika Musaeva, who will join us to discuss the film and take questions from the audience.
Schedule
19:30 Doors Open
20:00 Film Starts
21:30 Short Break for Refreshments
21:40–22:40 Live Q&A with Malika Musaeva
Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left as soon as you enter next to the karaoke booth. FOMO is one flight up. Video instructions here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17933106294029235
T&Cs: Guests must enter the Bazari by 23:00 to gain access to the FOMO Cinema Lounge Bar. If the Atoneli St entrance is locked you can get in via the side entrance on Sulkhanishvil St between 21:00 and 23:00. We close at 02:00 each evening.