The Moon is a Father of Mine

Georgia, 1991. Wilful 12-year-old city boy Toma lives with his grandmother in Tbilisi. He keeps getting in trouble in school where he refuses to shy away from the bullies that taunt him out for his affection for Anana. One day, Toma and his grandmother are visited by Nemo, Toma’s father. Toma has no memory of Nemo: he left when Toma was only two. Nemo has just been released from prison. Nemo takes Toma to his parental village in the mountains from where they set out on a hunting trip. Nemo wants to get to know his son and make up for the lost years. Toma wants to know why his father was in prison. Through ups and downs, Toma slowly starts to feel a connection to his father. Just when Toma is about to really accept his father, Toma accidentally shoots Nemo. Toma eventually takes shelter in a trapping pit where they are found by villagers. Back at school the attitude of his bullies – and Anana – are proof that Toma has learned from his father’s lessons.

Director's note:

When I was a little boy, same age as our main character Toma, I often cried before I fell asleep. Why was I crying? I imagined that time would pass and my parents would be aging and that one day they would die. When I got older and my father passed away, I didn’t even shed a single tear. I was upset about this: didn’t I love my father, that I was not able to cry? Later I realised that I had already cried for my father when I was a child. I always wanted to talk about relations between fathers and children, to look into this phenomenon that is often called an invisible connection between people. We are walking on the road, led by our fathers. They show us the direction and later we lead the way for our children the same way we were lead. In all my previous films, a person is fighting for self-esteem, self-protection, and even if he/she physically dies, he/she still stays as a winner. This story is also inspired by the belief that life goes on.

Director's/Producer's bio:

George Ovashvili is a Georgian director, writer, and producer. He is a graduate from the film department of the Georgian State Institute of Cinema and Theatre (1996) and the course of filmmaking of The New York Film Academy at Universal Studios in Hollywood (2006). He made his debut with two short films Wagonnet (1997) and Eye Level (2005). His first feature film The Other Bank premiered at Berlin Film Festival's Generation section in 2009 and won over 50 international prizes. His second feature Corn Island won the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2014 and was shortlisted for the Academy’s best foreign language film in 2015. Khibula ended the trilogy of long features. The film premiered in the main competition of Karlovy Vary IFF in 2017.

Company profile:

Wagonnet Films was founded by the producer, director, and writer George Ovashvili. Wagonnet Films was registered on the base of previous George Ovashvili companies – George Ovashvili Productions and Alamdary Films (The Other Bank (2009), Corn Island (2014), Khibula (2017)). Except making co-productions, Wagonnet Films works as a service company and offers a full-package service to the foreign crews willing to shoot in Georgia.