LIZA, GO ON

Short Talk with Nana Janelidze (director) and Emil Spahiysky (associate producer)

Georgia, Bulgaria / 2023 / 115’

BEST FULL-LENGTH FILM Category

21st IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival 2024

Synopsis: All the terrible wars that Russia waged following the collapse of the Soviet Union were preceded by a war in Georgia. Russia provoked and orchestrated a war between the Georgians and the Abkhaz living in Georgia's historic region of Abkhazia. The main character of the film Liza is a journalist who, 25 years ago, worked as a war reporter during this war. 25 years after the war, while hosting the live TV show, Liza receives a call from the former Abkhaz fighter from Abkhazia.

Biography: Nana Janelidze – Scriptwriter of “Repentance” – Cannes IFF Jury Special Prize, FIPRESCI Prize and Ecumenical Church’s prize (1987) Holder of two "Nika" (Russian Film Academy) awards for the film script – Repentance 1987; and the film „Will there be a theater up there?!“ – best foreign film 2011; Laureate of the Georgian State prize for the film Lullaby 1994. Winner of several main prizes at IFF (among them Pesaro, Moscow, Lagovo, Montpellier, Tbilisi, etc.) Participated in about 50 IFF.

Nana Janelidze, Director

Nana Janelidze (director): When I begin to read these diaries, it was very emotional for me, because
these facts we didn’t know about, they happened and then we decided to close the theme. We had only banners in the city that we must return Abkhazia, but nothing more about it. We didn’t know these human stories and each story is a theme for a big film, not only little part of my film. These stories were so sincere, so tragic, I wanted everybody to listen to these words, they were for me like a big Greek tragedy, and we need to know about these facts. At the same time, it was impossible to make it in live action, because it was too brutal, and it would be too naturalistic, and I decided to make it an animation. This form gives you a freedom of expression of your thoughts, because war is something much more than what you are looking at, it is dehumanization of people, it is tragedy. 

This animation is a little bit surrealistic, philosophical, naive, it’s like sketches of a soldier, who was in the war and who was participating in it. We decided to make all these documentary stories from real life in animation and in that way tell a little bit more about this war, because when people are dying, their souls are going to heaven, but when they are doing something terrible, they’re going to hell, something a little bit naive, but you have to speak about these moments and that’s why this form was made by us. 

Then we decided to make it in the form of a road movie, because road movies mean transformation of a person. Liza going on doesn’t mean the real way from Georgia to Abkhazia, it means it is her way, it’s her road during her whole life. She decided to make her last trip to this bridge to Abkhazia and I think that’s the women’s mission, it is to build bridges, not walls between people, to make bridges, to cross them and to be brave to build a good future for the children. Women’s mission is much more than men’s mission, because men are making it worse, and women are trying to build a new future.

This war is tragical for both sides and we are victims of this war. War itself is a big giant, who is playing with us, like we’re puppets in his hands. All wars are begun by politicians, but victims are real people, civilians, children, women, old people, so it’s always very tragic.

You must have this hope in you and when you are speaking about it loudly, then it is spreading. The mission of art is to give you hope to make step forward.

Author's View:

LIZA, GO ON is not just a film, it is an artwork, made with so much attention to the details and so much consideration, tact and thoughtfulness on such a heavy topic.

We see how human destinies intertwine, passing through the story of the protagonist in such a way that it touches us to the very depths of our souls. The movie is shown not brutally and not stubbornly literal, but through different author's approaches, which psychologically affect the viewer even more due to its originality and its mindfulness.

This work internally shatters you and leaves a mark on you. The symbology of Liza’s path and her transformation through the whole movie is done incredibly. Her character is portrayed beautifully, showing us a strong woman who is making a difference, who is fighting for a better future. At the end of the movie, we are left not only with tearful eyes, but also with a hope sparked in our hearts. Isn't that how we know that something is truly meaningful, valuable and precious?