A TUNNEL


FESTIVALS:

* IDFA 2019 first appearance competition
* Bridges - East of West Film Days

AWARDS:

* Best Feature-Length Documentary - DokuBaku IDFF
* Young Onion Award - Makedocs 2020
* Best Movie Grand Prix in Trento Film Festival
The Jury Report:
« An extraordinary closeness, a sense for the visual atmosphere ... a film that says a lot about our current period of geopolitical tensions, contested identities and a globalized world of work and capital. Dramatic but never exaggerated, the film identifies the events of a small village as a clash between past and future, between those who have and those who have not, in which we all have a role ».


A Tunnel

Category | Environment, Human Interest, Human Rights, Politics, Social Issues
Year | 2019
Country | Georgia, Germany
Running time | 92'
Format | 2K
Production | Artefact Production, Ventana Film
Director |
Vano Arsenishvili, Nino Orjonikidze



People are hard at work extending the railroad in a remote Georgian mountain village. When they’re done, the new Silk Road Express will run through here. But before this high-speed connection between China and Europe can go anywhere, a tunnel has to be dug—a tunnel that goes right through a mountain where villagers have their fields and pastures. In his office at the station, an old-time stationmaster prepares for his role in the future, when a lot more trains will be coming through the station.

There are promises of prosperity and progress, but in the dreamy atmosphere of the fairy-tale village, the coming of the express train feels more like a nightmare. With the rumbling in the mountain coming ever closer, the villagers look on impotently as the ground fractures and crumbles. Uncertainty is growing, because no one knows whether the houses are going to have to be knocked down or not.

Language and communication problems between the Georgian and Chinese workers lead to fierce arguments, and ultimately a tense strike. The gorgeous, disengaged shots perfectly reflect the surrealist atmosphere of a changing world order.

PRESS IMAGES:








TRAILER :
A TUNNEL - teaser from CAT&Docs on Vimeo.