Giorgi Ovashvili

Giorgi Ovashvili (გიორგი ოვაშვილი; aka George) is a Georgian film director and screenwriter, known for his 2014 film Corn Island.

Early life and education
Giorgi Ovashvili is a graduate of the film department of the Georgian State University of Cinema and Theatre (1996) and the filmmaking department of the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios in Hollywood (2006).

Career
Ovashvili made his debut as director with two short films, "Wagonnet" (1997) and "Eye Level" (2005).

His first feature film, The Other Bank, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival's Generation section in 2009 and won over 50 international prizes, and was nominated at European Film Awards in the category "European Discovery".

His second feature, Corn Island, won the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival as well as the Grand Prix "Golden Vine" award at Kinoshock in 2014, and in 2015 took a top prize at the Trieste Film Festival and was shortlisted for the Academy's best foreign-language film in 2015.

Khibula (2017) was dedicated to the recent history of Georgia. The film was premiered in the main competition of Karlovy Vary IFF in 2017.

Ovashvili is working on The Moon is a Father of Mine.

Production company
After having produced his own works, Ovashvili established his own film production company in 2016, Wagonnet Films, in Tbilisi.

Recognition and awards
In 2015, Ovashvili received a special award named "High Priest of Culture", along with director Zaza Urushadze, for contributing to and promoting Georgian cinema internationally.

Director

 * Beautiful Helen (2022)
 * Khibula (2017)
 * Corn Island (2014)
 * Gagma napiri (2009), The Other Bank
 * Eye Level... (2005)
 * Wagonette (1997)

Screenwriter

 * Beautiful Helen (2022)
 * Khibula (2017)
 * "corn island" (2014)
 * Gagma napiri (2009) (adaptation), The Other Bank
 * Eye Level... (2005)
 * Wagonnet (1996)

Producer

 * Beautiful Helen (2022)
 * Khibula (2017)
 * "corn island" (2014)
 * Gagma napiri (2009) (producer), "The Other Bank"
 * Eye Level... (2005) (co-producer) (executive producer)
 * Wagonnet (1996)

Self - TV
<!--- too long - make a selection and cite properly
 * Euro Video Grand Prix (2006) (TV) .... Himself - Jury Member

Festivals, Awards and Nominations
CORN ISLAND (2014) 1.	INTERNATIONAL BOSPHORUS FILM FESTIVAL (Istanbul, Turkey)                               noncompetitive section 2.	RABAT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Rabat, Morocco)                                                                                             main competition: won Special jury award 3.	MAKING WAVES: NEW ROMANIAN CINEMA FESTIVAL (New York, USA) noncompetitive section 4.	ESTERN NEIGHBOURS FILM FESTIVAL (Hague, Netherlands)                                                                                  Current Engaging Cinema 5.	LIFE THROUGH CINEM (London, UK)                                                                           noncompetitive section 6.	ESPOO CINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Espoo, Finland) 7.	MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Melbourne, Australia)                   International Panorama 8.	PULA FILM FESTIVAL (Pula, Croatia)                                                                               International Program - Competition for the Golden Arena for the foreign film. 9.	GOLDEN APRICOT FILM FESTIVAL (Yerevan, Armenia)                                                                                               Films Across Borders 10.	SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL (Sydney, Australia) 11.	TRANSILVANIA FILM FESTIVAL (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)                                                                                                    Words are very unnecessary - competition 12.	FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE MEDIOAMBIENTAL DE CANARIAS (Tenerife, Spain)                                                                                      Feature Films Competition – won Special Mention of Jury 13.	FESTIVAL AL ESTE DE LIMA (Lima, Peru)                                                                                                Feature films Competition – won Honorable Mention of Jury 14.	CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Cannes, France)                                                                               Social Vision, noncompetitive 15.	SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Seattle, US)                                                                                    Films in Bellevue, noncompetitive 16.	ESKISEHIR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Eskisehir, Turkey)                                                                                                From World Festivals, noncompetitive 17.	CROSSING EUROPE FILM FESTIVAL (Linz, Austria)                                                             European Panorama, noncompetitive 18.	MOOVE – FILMS FACING THE WORLD (Brugge & Turnhout, Belgium)                                                                                           Discovery, noncompetitive 19.	GO EAST FILM FESTIVAL (Wiesbaden, Germany)                                                                                      Beyond Belongings, noncompetitive 20.	CINEMA D'AUTOR DE BARCELONA (Barcelona, Spain)                                                 Transitions, noncompetitive 21.	CYPRUS FILM DAYS (Nicosia, Cyprus)                                                                                                     Viewfinder, noncompetitive 22.	34th MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL                                                                                              Film on the Fringe, noncompetitive 23.	TITANIC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Budapest, Hungary)                                                                                               Festival Favorites, noncompetitive 24.	TETOUAN INTERNATIONAL MEDITERRANIAN FILM FESTIAVAL (Tetouan, Morocco)                                                           Long Feature's Competition – won Special Jury Award – Silver Djed 25.	HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Hong Kong, China)                                                                                                       Global Vision, noncompetitive 26.	CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)                                                                                               Pan-Asian Films, noncompetitive 27.	FRIBOURG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Fribourg, Switzerland)                                                                                 International Competition – Long Films: won Audience Award 28.	SOFIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Sofia, Bulgaria)                                                          Focus on Georgia – noncompetitive section 29.	CINEQUEST FILM FESTIVAL (San Jose, California, USA)                                                                     Life: won Best Feature Narrative: Drama 30.	PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Portland, Oregon, USA)                                                                                          Oscar Submissions, noncompetitive. 31.	GOTEBORG FILM FESTIVAL (Gothenburg, Sweden)                                                         Festivalfavoriter - noncompetitive section 32.	LUXOR EGYPTIAN & EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL (Luxor, Egypt)                                                                                                   Feature Films Competition: won The Silver DJED Pillar, the Jury’s special award. 33.	TRIESTE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Trieste, Italy)                                                Feature Film Competition: won Audience Award 34.	PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Palm Springs, USA)                                                                                       Another Europe – noncompetitive section: won Bridging the borders prize 35.	TBILISI FILM FESTIVAL (Tbilisi, Georgia)                                                                       Georgian Panorama – competitive section: won Best Actor 36.	INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF KERALA (Kerala, India)                                         World Cinema – noncompetitive section 37.	BRISBANE ASIA PASIFIC FILM FESTIVAL (Brisbane,  Australia)                                                                                        Competition 38.	BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL (Tallinn, Estonia)                                                          Panorama Section 39.	45th INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA (Goa, India)                       Noncompetitive section 40.	TAIPEI GOLDEN HORSE FILM FESTIVAL (Taipei, Taiwan)                                                 Another View – noncompetitive 41.	LEEUWARDEN NORTHERN FILM FESTIVAL (Leeuwarden, Netherlands)                                                                                     European Panorama Section 42.	28th LEEDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Leeds, England)                                                                                                 Official Selection Discoveries – noncompetitive section 43.	ARAVA FILM FESTIVAL (Arava, Israel)                                                                         Competition – won Audience Award 44.	12th EUROPEAN FILM FORUM SCANORAMA (Vilnius, Lithuania)                                                                                            Crossing Europe - Noncompetitive section 45.	KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Kolkata, India)                                  Noncompetitive section 46.	19th OURENSE FILM FESTIVAL (Ourense, Spain)                                                                     Official Competition – won Special Jury Award 47.	CINEDAYS (Skopje, Macedonia)                                                                               Noncompetitive section 48.	LES RENCONTRES DES CINEMAS D'EUROPE (Aubenas, France)                               Panorama of European Cinematography – noncompetitive 49.	ARRAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Arras, France)                                  Noncompetitive section 50.	CINESSONNE - EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL (Essonne, France)                                    European Competition – won Audience Award and Student Award 51.	INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL BRATISLAVA (Bratislava, Slovakia)                           Panorama – noncompetitive section 52.	MINSK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTAL "lISTOPAD" (Minsk, Belarus)                                   Main Competition – won Best Cinematography

53.	COTTBUS - FESTIVAL OF EAST EUROPEAN CINEMA (Cottbus, Germany)                        Feature Film Competition – won Audience Award 54.	36th INTERNATIONAL MEDITERRANEAN FILM FESTIVAL (Montpellier, France)                                                                                                                                    Official selection - Features Competition - won Best Film,  won Best Music,  won Critics' Award and won Grand Prize of the Festival - "Golden Antigone." 55.	SAN MARINO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (San Marino)                                               Official Competition – won Best Director & Best Actress. 56.	ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)                                         New Horizons Competition 57.	KIEV INTERNATIONAL FILM FESIVAL "MOLODIST" (Kiev, Ukraine)                                   Festival of Festivals - Noncompetitive section 58.	TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Tokyo, Japan )                                                      World Focus - noncompetitive section 59.	ATHENS PANORAMA OF EUROPEAN CINEMA (Athens, Greece)                                                    won Audience Award (Best Film); won International Critics Prize. 60.	12th INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TOFIFEST (Torun, Poland)                                             On Air – International Competition - won Audience Award, Students Jury Award and Honorary Mention by the professional Jury 61.	MOSTRA DE CINEMA (São Paulo, Brazil)                                                                              New director’s competition – won Critics Award – Honorable Mention 62.	50th CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Chicago, USA)                                                                        World cinema - noncompetitive section 63.	5th INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – DIDOR (Dushanbe, Tajikistan)                      International Competition 64.	MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL (Mumbai, India)                                                                                            World Cinema - noncompetitive section 65.	30th HAIFA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Haifa, Israel)                                                                              Films of  Tomorrow – Fedeora Competition 66.	FILM FROM THE SOUTH (Oslo, Norway)                                                                                Main Competition - won Special Mention of the Jury 67.	51st INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN ORANGE FILM FESTIVAL (Antalya, Turkey)                                                                                                                                Opening Film – noncompetitive section 68.	BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (London, England)                                                                  Dare - noncompetitive section 69.	19th BUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Bussan, South Korea)                                                                              World Cinema - noncompetitive section

70.	VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Vancouver, Canada)                                                                                                                        Cinema of Our Time - noncompetitive section 71.	REYKJAVIK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Reykjavik, Iceland)                                                         Open Seas - noncompetitive section 72.	KINOSHOCK OPEN FILM FESTIVAL (Anapa, Russia)                                                                      Full length Competition - won Grand Prix, won Best Cinematography 73.	62th SAN SEBASTIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (San Sebastian, Spain)                                                                                                          Zabaltegi - noncompetitive section 74.	INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF NEW FILM (Split, Croatia)                                                    Features Competition - won Grand Prix 75.	49th KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Karlovy Vary, Czech)               Official Selection – competition - won Grand Prix  &  won Ecumenical Jury Award 76.	ACADEMY AWARDS 2015                                                                                                                        Shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film Category 77.	CINEMA FOR PEACE, Berlinale 2015                                                                                        Nominated for International Green Film Award 78.	NIKE 2015                                                                                                                             Nominated for the Best Film of CIS and Baltic States 79.	EFA (European Film Academy) 2015                                                                                                                                   Selection for the 28th European Film Awards, shortlisted.

The Other Bank (2009)

80.	“IBN ARABI” International Film Festival (Murcia, Spain) (2011)                                                     won best film 81.	International Film Festival “Castellinaria” (Bellinzona, Switzerland) (2010)                                   won “Premio Ambiente e Salute” 82.	International Film Festival EL OJO COJO (Madrid, Spain) (2010)                                                     won Grand Prize of the festival 83.	International Film Festival DIDOR (Dushanbe, Tajikistan) (2010)                                                        won NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) 84.	International Film Festival DIDOR (Dushanbe, Tajikistan) (2010)                                                        won special prize of “Rukhom” 85.	International Film Festival for children and youth (Vilnius, Lithuania) (2010)                                   won best film (children jury 12-14 years) 86.	the 15th Ourense International Film Festival (Ourense, Spain) (2010)                                 Won University Jury Award for Best Feature Film 87.	the 11th Moqavemat International Film Festival (Tehran, Iran) (2010)                                              won the best screenplay award 88.	International film festival “Nueva Mirada” (Buenos Aires. Argentina) (2010)                                         won Young People and Children Award for the Best Feature Fiction Film 89.	International film festival “Nueva Mirada” (Buenos Aires. Argentina) (2010)                                         won SIGNIS Argentina Jury Award –special mention for the Best Feature Fiction Film 90.	International film festival “Nueva Mirada” (Buenos Aires. Argentina) (2010)                                           won Fiction Jury Award –special mention 91.	International Film Festival “Shaken’s Star” (Almaty, Kazakhstan) (2010)                        won best debut prize 92.	Mediawave International Film and Music Festival (Hungary) (2010)                                  won Best Film 93.	Mosaico d’Europa International Film Festival (Ravenna, Italy) (2010)                                  won Best Film 94.	Cine Pobre International Film Festival (Gibara, Cuba) (2010)                                              won Grand Prize 95.	Cine Pobre International Film Festival (Gibara, Cuba) (2010)                                         Won the Prize of the National Film Press 96.	Cape Wine lands International Film Festival (South Africa) (2010)                                      won International Film Guide Inspiration Award 97.	Fribourg International Film Festival (Switzerland) (2010),                                                    Won Grand Prix “Le Regard D’or” 98.	Fribourg International Film Festival (Switzerland) (2010),                                                     Won Audience Award 99.	International film festival “Film D’Amour de Mons” (Belgium) (2010),                           won Le Grand Prix du Festival – Prix Belgacom TV                                                    100. International film festival “Film D’Amour de Mons” (Belgium) (2010),                               won Le Prix CineFemme 101.	“NIKA award” Russian academy of cinema arts,                                                Nominated for the best foreign language film 102.	Tromso international film festival (Norway) (2010),                                                  won Norwegian Peace award 103.	Dhaka international film festival (Bangladesh) (2010),                                        won the best Asian film award 104.	Dhaka international film festival (Bangladesh) (2010),                                                                              won the best actor award  (Tedo Bekhauri)

105.	Dhaka international film festival (Bangladesh) (2010),                                               won FIPRESCI award 106.	Palm Springs international film festival (USA) (2010),                                           won FIPRESCI Award for best actor (Tedo Bekhauri) 107.	Candidate of Georgia in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Award (2009) 108.	European film academy award (2009)                                                                   Nominated, European discovery of the year 109.	Olympia international film festival (Greece) (2009)                                                won jury special mention 110.	International film festival of India (Goa, India) (2009)                                                won special jury award “silver peacock” 111.	Festival international de cinema a Gonfreville (France) (2009)                                     won best script award (Nugzar Shataidze) 112.	Festival international de cinema a Gonfreville (France) (2009)                                    won prize CIFFEJ 113.	Noah’s arc international film festival (Moscow, Russia) (2009)                                 won best debut 114.	Noah’s arc international film festival (Moscow, Russia) (2009)                                  won best cinematography (Shahriar Assadi) 115.	LISTOPAD international film festival (Minsk, Byelorussia) (2009)                             won best debut 116.	Asiaticafilmmediale (Rome, Italy) (2009)                                                                 won best Asian future film 117.	Noordelijk international film festival (Netherlands) (2009)                                        won jury special mention 118.	MOLODOST international film festival (Kiev, Ukraine) (2009)                                  won best film 119.	GOLDEN ORANGE (Antalya, Turkey) (2009)                                                            won best director prize 120.	GOLDEN ORANGE (Antalya, Turkey) (2009)                                                               won best actor prize (Tedo Bekauri) 121.	GOLDEN ORANGE (Antalya, Turkey) (2009)                                                                  won best film in international competition (Turkish film critic’s association prize) 122.	Romanian International Film Festival (Arad, Romania) (2009)                                     won best director prize 123.	Copenhagen international film festival for children and youth BUSTER (Denmark) (2009),                                                                                                                               won best children’s film 124.	Kinoshok-Open CIS and Baltic film festival (Anapa, Russia) (2009),                          won special diploma of jury. 125.	Golden Apricot (Yerevan, Armenia) (2009),                                                                     won “Golden Apricot” –Award for the best film. 126.	Golden Apricot (Yerevan, Armenia) (2009),                                                                  won Ecumenical Jury Prize 127.	Paris Cinema (2009),                                                                                                              won JURY AWARD “METROBUS” for the best film. 128.	Cines del Sur (Granada, Spain) (2009),                                                                    won the ALHAMBRA de ORO, the prize for best feature-length Film 129.	SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival, USA) (2009),                                                 won Grand Jury Prize, 130.	GO EAST (Wiesbaden, Germany) (2009),                                                                           won the “Golden Lily”,  Skoda-Award for the Best Film 131.	GO EAST (Wiesbaden, Germany) (2009),                                                                      won, FIPRESCI prize 132.	FEST 2009 (Belgrade International Film Festival) (2009),                                             won, Jury Special Mention--- end commenting out--->