Georgian filmmaker, writer and producer, and founder of Film Asylum. He discovered cinema during the war, when his grandfather, a gifted imitator, screened silent 16mm films during power cuts and performed every character live. Seeing how cinema could bring people joy even through war, cold and hardship, Vako decided he would make films too. His work has screened internationally, including at the Montréal World Film Festival, and received recognition from the Student Academy Awards.