VEDREBA (aka THE PLEA) screening at FOMO Cinema Tbilisi

Tengiz Abuladze | 1967 | Georgia | 1h17m | Presented in the original Georgian audio with English subtitles

VEDREBA, or THE PLEA, is one of the most visually distinctive films to come out of Georgian cinema in the 1960s. Abuladze draws on the work of Vazha-Pshavela, one of the central figures in Georgian literature, whose writing returned again and again to the mountain cultures of Georgia and to the conflict between compassion and group justice.

The film is actually two tales. In the first, the Khevsur warrior Aluda kills his Kist enemy Mutsali, then refuses to chop off his hand as is the custom out of respect for the man’s bravery. In the second, the Kist Jokola shelters the Khevsur Zviadauri as a guest, only to be condemned when his own people break the code of hospitality and murder the man he was bound to protect. For anyone who's ever heard the phrase 'A guest is a gift from God' you'll find this film particularly powerful!

What makes the film so striking is its form. Abuladze isn’t chasing realism in any ordinary sense. He stylises gesture, costume, procession and landscape until the whole film begins to feel closer to legend than social drama. That gives VEDREBA its authority. The mountains aren’t backdrop. They press on the people inside them. The same is true of custom. Abuladze shows how honour, mercy, vengeance and hospitality can all exist inside the same moral universe, and how quickly a community can turn against anyone who places human dignity above group think and traditional law.

VEDREBA also sits at an important point in Abuladze’s career. Before the later international recognition of REPENTANCE, he was already building a cinema of parable, poetry and ethical intensity. You can feel that here. The film is rooted in Georgian literary culture, but it never plays like dutiful adaptation. It’s also worth noting that filming took place in the highland Ingush village of Erzi, which deepens the film’s connection to the mountain world it depicts.

NOTE: VEDREBA is being presented as film 2 in our Soviet Sunday Film Program. You can also catch soviet classic BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN with a discounted double pass. To learn more please visit this page.

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 the first floor. You can also check our Instagram story highlights for a video showing exactly how to find us:
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17933106294029235/