Fotografia / Photography: Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel. Montaggio / Editing: François Sculier, Eka Tsotsoria, Julien Pebrel, Tamar Kalandadze. Musica / Music: Nika Pasuri. Suono / Sound: Emmanuel Soland, Niko Tarielashvili, Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel. Produzione / Produced by: Sakdoc Film, Habilis Productions. In associazione con / In association with: Murman Original Pictures, Jaga Grip. Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Aide aux Cinémas du Monde (CNC), Eurimages, Région Normandie, Scam, Eurodoc, EAVE, Rough Cut Boutique. Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: Square Eyes.
“Kartli” refers both to Georgia’s medieval kingdom and a Tbilisi sanatorium sheltering refugees from the 1990s war in Abkhazia, meant as temporary but lasting 30 years. The crumbling building became a recreated “country”, with a farm, gardens, terraces and rooms where old VHS tapes revive memories of a lost paradise. Through Tamuna, Irma, and others, the film explores exile, trauma, and shared resilience, showing that nothing stays the same inside Kartli.
“A four-handed film, two of us bring our shared perspective to this film, a result of extensive discussions. Beneath the collective view, individual perspectives also contribute, each with its unique language, concepts, histories, and cultures. This film captures our interaction, reflecting an intimate embrace of each other’s influence.” (T. Kalandadze, J. Pebrel)
Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel
Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel are both filmmaking collaborators and life partners. They met in Georgia in 2017. Tamar, born in Tbilisi in 1990, is an emerging Georgian filmmaker whose creative practice includes video, photography, and other media. She graduated from Tbilisi State Film and Theatre University in 2012 and the Caucasus School of New Cinema in 2018. Tamar has collaborated with renowned filmmakers as an assistant director and script editor. Julien, a French director and photographer based in
Paris and Tbilisi, has over a decade of experience as a member of MYOP, focusing on the mundane and unfolding narratives in regions marked by traces of recent history. His work has been published in numerous international outlets and exhibited worldwide. The Kartli Kingdom, developed over seven years, is their debut feature-length documentary. The film premiered at IDFA in Amsterdam in 2025, where it won the award for Best Director in the International Competition and a Special Mention in the competition for Best Feature.
2025 Qartlis Tskhovreba (The Kartli Kingdom) doc.; Premi / Awards: IDFA – Premio per la Miglior regia, Menzione speciale nel Concorso per la miglior opera prima / Best Directing Award, Special Mention in the Competition for Best First Feature
