Life warning in Tbilisi - the subway

Hold on to the handrails when you are on the escalator of the metro in Tbilisi. I encountered the escalator stopping abruptly two times, during one of my short weekend stay in the capital. The long, deep, speedy escalator heading underground had then appeared in my nightmare.

(Adley) we saw this kind of deep subway in many capitals of past-soviet countries like Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia. I wonder it related to war-like mentality (during the cold war) to use the subway for military mobility and shelter.

電影癮發作，在第比利斯參觀國際電影節

我哋一向喺香港都有去國際電影節，每年無睇哂啲戲都會睇十部。十二月嚟到格魯吉亞首都第比利斯，適逢其第十四屆電影節，而且睇戲好平，約每人每套戲戲票約三十元，我哋當然唔客氣。離開咗首都去酒區卡其提一星期都會返嚟睇戲。有幸梳化主人魯卡斯肯收留我們，就算他不在家，仍然留低鎖匙俾我哋入屋。況且佢屋企嚟播放電影院很近，我哋一於老實不客氣，一連睇咗十幾套戲*。

老實講，我哋覺得香港電影節辦得井井有條: 預早一個月已經知道時間表、可以郵遞或上網買飛、有影迷通行証和多場講票優惠等。呢啲嘢喺辦咗十幾年嘅第比利斯國際電影節全部欠奉。網頁講到天花龍鳳，喺開始前一星期喺網頁都未有時間表及電影資料，我哋寫電郵問，兩日後有個人回答話正準備中。睇嚟好似係一個人做哂所有嘢咁踢腳。特顯呢個國家做嘢風格: 講就天下無敵，死沖爛沖，之後甩甩漏漏。終於喺網上出咗個時間表，但係居然得兩間電影有放映，仲要只可以喺嗰間影院買嗰間放嘅戲。可想而知，開始買飛當日排龍不特止，原來時間表印刷本只係當日先開始喺嗰兩間戲院先派，瞬間派哂 ! 個買飛電腦只係睇到格魯吉亞文，唔知道我哋買嗰場戲時間嘅戲名。甩漏一路嚟: 原本話英文字幕變咗俄文、遲到放映、入場數目多個戲院坐位、甚至試過放錯戲 ! 算啦，大部份時候都無乜題。

講番啲電影，我哋認為以後可以睇番國際電影，所以揀啲本地製作。以下幾套是深刻的:

Full Speed Westward (Stefan Tolz) 講述最近新政府交替，之前政府崇洋崇發展，起埋哂啲超現實政府建築；新政府由一本地富商(但喺俄羅斯辦銀行發蹟)開頭的政黨透過選舉代替，好似比較務實。個導演好似左右逢源咁能夠訪問前總統及富商，當晚戲院好似坐滿名流鄉紳。

Disorder (Archil Kavtaradze) 講述一真人真事: 中產司機撞傷一對偷食戀人，變拘留監禁和罪犯為伍，要份精神病才能轉至較自由的病房，但又看到另一班被社會遺棄的邊緣人。最後作結是把格魯吉亞自古民族所處的艱苦和他所受的比較。難道兩者都是人禍嗎? 比較本身有點勉強，但一貫高加索民族的强悍。呢套戲喺今屆被選為其中最佳電影。

這一星期我們如在香港般跑戲院跑得不亦樂乎，有時為了趕時間，只有出街吃飯，我們的快餐就是像大款小籠包的Khinkali !

下載 - 第十四屆第比利斯國際電影節時間表

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3/12

13:30 Amirani 2 For Marx… – Svetlana Baskova, 100’, Russian with Eng. subtitles

16:00 Amirani 1 Paradise: Love – Ulrich Seidl, 120’ , German-English-Swahili with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

21:30 Rustaveli 4 Imagine – Andrzej Jakimowski, 105’, English-French with Eng. & Geo. subtitles
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4/12

11:00 Amirani 1 Disorder – Archil Kavtaradze Georgia, 2013, 90’, Georgian with English subtitles, Q&A

13:30 Rustaveli 4 For Those in Peril – Paul Wright, 93’, English with Geo. subtitles

16:00 Amirani 2 I Am a Little Georgian – Levan Adamia, 52’, with Eng. subtitles
The King – Shalva Shengeli, 58‘, with Eng. subtitles, Q&A

19:00 Amirani 1 Paradise: Faith – Ulrich Seidl, 115’ German-Arabic with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

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5/12

13:30 Amirani 1 Paradise: Hope – Ulrich Seidl, 92’, German with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

16:00 Rustaveli 4 F5 Alexander Koridze, 78‘, Georgian with Eng. subtitles, Q&A

19:00 Amirani 1 Full Speed Westward – Stefan Tolz, 90’, Georgian with Eng. subtitles, Q&A

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6/12

12:00 Amirani 2 Burning Bush – Agnieszka Holland, 234’, Czech with Eng. & Geo. subtitles

16:00 Amirani 3 Almost 18 – Maarit Lalli, 110’, Finnish-swedish with Eng. & Geo. subtitles

21:00 Amirani 3 Rat King – Petri Kotwica, 93’, Finnish with Eng. & Geo. subtitles, Q&A

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7/12

12:00 Amirani 3 Medeas – Andrea Pallaoro, 98’, English with Geo. subtitles, Q&A

16:00 Rustaveli 4 As If there Was a Sea – Levan Sikharulidze, 13‘ Crossroads – Zurab Demet My Friend Iliko – Nino Zhvania, 10‘ One Man Loved, 12‘ The Queue – Anna Tsimintia, 11’, with English subtitles, Q&A

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8/12

12:00 10 Films Amirani 2, Festival of Animated Films TOPUZI presents 10 Films

16:00 Rustaveli 4 Ida – Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland/Denmark, 2013, 80’, Polish with Eng. & Geo. subtitles 

Our cultural adventure in Tbilisi, Georgia

There are many theaters, puppet show, mime show, concert and frequent dance performances in Tbilisi. However, the promotion posters are always very last minutes. We could find performance schedules from the tourist information center or poster in the street. Sometimes, they just have attractive posters and only announce “coming soon” without any details of when it is showing. We were in time for the film festival but it’s only one week ahead that they start telling you what movies they are showing and tickets sales starts 5 days ahead. I also found a contemporary dance festival online without details. I emailed them and they said it’s delayed for one month and no further information yet. Another time, we get a traditional Georgian music concert tickets and only when arriving the concert hall that night, they accounted that the concert is postponed. The show starts at 8pm and the staff are writing an English announcement at the door at 8:10pm! We faced problem in finding entrance of the theater and concert hall too. As they are under renovation, it’s covered by construction panels and the main door open only 15mins before the show starts.

As for house museums, some are free, while others are not. They belong to famous Georgian artists, including painter, choreographer, poet, writer and musicians. It’s cozy and homey. We found a brochure about the opening time but they are not usually accurate. We have a hard time finding the place. Once we find a museum with a sign at the entrance but we cannot find the museum itself. Our language barrier makes it difficult to ask direction and the opening time seems a bit random, it might take a second visit to find it open. We feel like visiting these artists without an appointment and it’s like an adventure.

After all, we stayed one month in Georgia and it’s a dynamic country with beautiful nature and friendly people. It is pushing its modernization in high speed, looking forward to become part of EU and to separate itself from Russian influence. We expect that it would be very different in a few years time.