FR-GE 2010 colour 122 min.
dir: Otar Iosseliani
pro: Martine Marignac, Pierre Grise Productions (France), Sanguko Films (Georgia), Ministere de la Culture (French Ministry of Culture), Centre National de la Cinematographie (Georgia)
sc: Otar Iosseliani
ph: Lionel Cousin (in Gergia), Julie Grünebaum (in France)
mus: Djardji Balantchivadze
ed: Otar Iosseliani, Emmanuelle Legendre
cast: Dato Tarielashvili, Tamuna Karmuidze, Fanny Gonin, Givi Sarchimelidze, Pierre Etaix, Bulle Ogier, Bogdan Stupka, Lasha Shevarnadze, Nika Endeladze, Nino Tchkheidze
dis: Against Gravity

Nicolas is an artist, a filmmaker, who asks for nothing more than to be able to express himself in freedom. Freedom that is the cause of many problems… When he first starts out in Georgia, the “ideologues” wish to silence him, considering his work not in tune with the rules in place. Faced with their determination, Nicolas leaves his native country for France – land of freedom and democracy. But the “state of grace” will be short lived…

“Chantrapas, [is] a battle cry for independence”, notes Joan Dupont in the New York Times. Chantrapas is a Russian expression derived from the French words for ‘won’t sing.’ It became a noun designating those who resisted the regime, the outcasts. In the film, Nico (Dato Tarielashvili), a young director, has to leave Tbilisi for Paris, which he sees as a haven for émigrés. ‘The film is about happiness,’ Mr Iosseliani says. ‘And how to be true to oneself, resist corruption.’ It is also about exile. This is a semi-autobigraphical story.

Cannes Film Festival 2010 – Special Screening