Film of the Week

Curated by Third Cinema Days

In our second week, Third Cinema Days Tbilisi presents a visual dialogue on how the state engineers the landscape to control movement. Aslanishvili examines the railway as a tool of geopolitical power in the Caucasus, while Aljafari exposes Israel's aerial surveillance of Palestine.

A State in a State (2022)

Experimental | 47m
Armenia/USSR

A State in a State traces the construction, disruption, and fragmentation of railroads in the South Caucasus and Caspian regions, observing how these transport infrastructures have come to materialise the fragile political borders that re-emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The film revolves around the scenes of delay and waiting that constitute cargo mobility, countering optimistic narratives about the New Silk Road and examining how the iron foundation of connectivity is used as a weapon of exclusion and geopolitical sabotage.

Director and Editor: Tekla Aslanishvili
Research and Script: Tekla Aslanishvili, Evelina Gambino
Music: Ani Zakareishvili, Nika Pasuri
Cinematography: Nikoloz Tabukashvili, Tekla Aslanishvili
Typography: Dato Simonia
Field Recordings: Viktor Bone, Teona Rekhviashvili
Sound Mastering: Irakli Shonia
Color: Sally Shamas
Producer: the Han Nefkens Foundation with support from the Fundació Antoni Tàpies; Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Manila; Jameel Art Centre, Dubai; NTU CCA, Singapore; and WIELS, Brussels.
Supported by the Berlin Senate for Culture and Europe.

UNDR (2024)

Experimental | 15m

Employing archival footage, UNDR constructs an eerie narrative of calculated incursion into the Palestinian landscape.

Director: Kamal Aljafari

Editing: Yannig Willmann

Sound: Attila Faravelli

Assistant Director: Flavia Mazzarino

Sound Mixing: Jochen Jezussek