I recently attended the 7th edition of Caucasus Cinema, a bi-annual filmmaking residency in Georgia. The residency is organised by film and radiomakers Vladic Ravich and Sopho Chkheidze, and takes the form of a voluntaryist collective. Food and transport expenses are shared and attendees stay in donated accommodation in villages across Georgia. Each of the four weeks of the residency takes place in a different Georgian region, with these varying each session. Due to work commitments I was only able to attend three weeks of this May’s block. Those took place in Kurzu in Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti; in Chanchati in Guria; and in the town of Oni in the mountainous Racha-Lechkhumi (close to the border of Russian occupied South Ossetia). The participants were an incredibly diverse and talented group of artists and filmmakers from all over the world – including composers, ceramists, visual anthropologists, sound designers, animators in addition to directors and DPs.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit Georgia once previously, in December 2024. Where I taught a workshop on Storytelling Through Sound, and shot the short film essay ‘The Quiet of Tbilisi’. But that was a flying visit, exclusively to the capital Tbilisi. This trip, moving from region to region in rural Georgia was a much richer introduction to the country. It’s a cliche that no one visits Georgia once. Given the kindness and hospitality of the people, as well as the lush natural habits on show (Georgia is over 40% native forrest), it’s easy to see why. As an ‘underdeveloped’, largely rural nation, Georgia reminded me of the best parts of 1980s Ireland. It was hard to pass a door – especially in the beautiful Samegrelo – without having wine, meat, bread or Chacha forced into yours hands. Most everywhere we visited, people welcomed us into their homes, shared their songs and stories, and treated us with kindness and tolerance. It was only as we approached the Russian border that things grew tense. In a place so saturated with propaganda and the ever present risk of invasion, strangers are not easily trusted.

We worked together, in ad hoc teams, developing short dramas, documentaries and experimental films. The standard was impeccable. As Caucasus is a highly selective programme, the quality of work pulled together in just a few short days was always impressive. Each week ended with a screening for the local community, where people who’d participated as actors or subjects, who’d leant their land and tractors and costumes could watch their world captured on screen. I could spend forever discussing the films created, and the artists responsible, but to mention just a few standout talents… The film critic and instrumentalist Andria Odzelashvili allowed me to lens his debut short, The Hermit, a constructivist / expressionist retelling of a traditional Georgian folk tale. We filmed overnight in a monstrously loud Stalin era hydroelectric power station, risking it all in the dark by the open guts of the spinning mechanism. Andria’s ideas about life and art also heavily inspired my own work, and that of others on the residency. He became a sort of quietly charismatic cult leader for our group, inspiring loyalty, devotion and even recitals.

Animators Giorgi Tushishvili and Max Walter independently created gorgrous short digital work on a timeline that seemed impossible. Artist Anna Halbleib made eye opening meditative experimental works. Researcher and printmaker Mariam Kakhniashvili not only produced my own overambitious short but co-directed several heartrending documentaries. Awais Gohar, who’s film Attock is one of the finest and most effortlessly moving shorts I’ve seen, delivered sterling cinematography work bringing paintings to life. I was honoured to work with Armenian journalist and filmmaker Nane Petrosyan on her quietly dreamy little short ‘Selkie’. Director Mero Natsvlishvili gave a beautiful turn as a spurned lover in one of my shorts, while I played the small part of a negligent father alongside documentarian Anna Leah. in his short film Rapper and actor Jambakur Bakradze played a communist apparatchik in my film, acting across from a wonderfully haunted Andria. Sophiko Tsabadze, a past Caucuses participant and all round wonderful human being brought us into her family’s home and heart, in the hilly settlement of Oni.

I shot several shorts, and directed two of my own. One, ‘Breath of the Mountain‘ (still in post production) is a meditation on manhood in my family. The other ludicrously titled short was ‘Although you keep insisting I refuse to admit I am the stinkbug‘. Stinkbug is a multi-part existential comedy, with each segment featuring a different cast and DOP. It was shot by Jakob Gehrmann, Max Knoop, Nazgul Khalelova, Karl Neubart and Yarema Holota. The film features an original soundtrack by Leviethaan (Eldar Lejvi). Eldar is one of the most infuriatingly talented people I’ve ever encountered, lending his compositional and production talents to almost 30 shorts over the course of the residency.

This was my first experience at a residential residency. Given the funds, I’d spend the rest of my days doing this. There’s something truly special about working with and alongside talented, artistically engaged people from all over the world. I’ve always felt like a bit of a bluffer in the world of film and fine art in general, and being able to make and contribute to good work was such a healing and inspiring experience. I’m also the least outdoorsy hiker imaginable, so it did my bougie ass good to rough it for a while. If Caucusas Cinema sounds like your cup of tea, I’d highly recommend applying – there are two sessions each year, one in May, the other October.