Late Georgian film director Levan Zakareishvili was a director who devoted his life to shooting a film about the
unbearable living condition under the rule of former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze. His film revealed the economic crisis, political chaos and rampant corruption during Shevardnadze’s reign in Georgia. Shevardnadze never obtained dictator status, but corruption flourished to such devastating levels that even professors, teachers and directors became marginalized in society.
The young generations found themselves having plenty of time on their hands due to lack of employment opportunities, leading many to enter a life of degradation, heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. Crooked policemen demanding bribes from petty criminals, and refugees from Georgia's separatist wars begging for food and spare change are the main characters of his well-known film “Tbilisi-Tbilisi”.Zakareishvili was a member of Russian Cinema Academy and also a member of “America’s free guild of directors”.
He was born in Tbilisi in 1953 and died aged 53 after a heart attack in August of 2006 .” cast a searching look over his country in the late Soviet era and early years of independence, dramatising the personal tragedies caused by its political upheavals.” - Mattew Collin, the “Guardin”.Zakareishvili started to shoot the film in 1996. It was real torture shooting the film because of financial problems at the time . The film finished in 2005 year. When talking about the film, famous Georgian moive speacialits Gogi Gvaxaria once said that many of the directors would have easily given up shooting the film when faced with financial and political resistance that Zakareishvili was forced to stand up to in order to achieve his goal. Zakareishvili never stopped shooting Tbilisi-Tbilisi despite the heavy resistances and endless problems that he encountered. He was a director who never made any compromises in his life.
“Caucasus Bestseller” was the name of the last project that Zakareishvili was working on before he died. It focused in on the April 9th tragedy in Tbilisi, when Russian soldiers violently dispersed peaceful anti -Soviet demonstrators, resulting in twenty deaths and hundreds of injured. He used to say that murder of those woman and girls was like a spit in our souls and he said that Georgians must not forget the tragedy and that’s why he wanted to shoot the film on the theme and immortalize Apri 9th tragedy in Georgia. He used to say that all the misfortunes of Georgia started from this tragedy and the whole world must know about this said he. If Zakareishvili was alive maybe he would not stand all that aggressions which Russia committed in South Osetia and in the whole Georgia in August of 2008.
Well-known Georgian writer Lasha Imedasvili, who was the script writer of the project and a close friend of Zakareishvili, remembers him as a very distinguished person and as a director who was always struggling to tell the truth. “When he told that he had never been a favourite of any government, he was right because he had such a character that it was very hard for him to make any compromises, and if he were to be forced to withhold certain facts, then he would keep silent. He was a natural born fighter against injustice and the oppressive forces of society.” Imedashvili further explained how he was a person with very different standpoints and thoughts. “It may come as a rather picturesque comparison but it is a matter of fact that he was really the ‘last of the Mohicans’ of Tbilisi.”
Though he had not produced a lot of films; it seemed as if he was destined to shoot festival style films. Zakareishvili made 7 films. His films have received many prizes and awards. He made his first short film “Father” (1983), which received several prizes in Obenhouse. His film ‘They’ (1992) is the first film that got to the Cannes film festival for Georgia. His last completed film, ‘Tbilisi-Tbilisi’, first gained fame at the Cinema Shock festival of CIS countries, where it won the award for best directing. Tbilisi-Tbilisi received 12 awards, including the "Gold Lily" grand prix Wiesbaden (Germany) 2006, "Nike" Moscow (Russia), which is the main prize of the Russian Cinema Academy 2006, and the Ashdoly (Israel) 2006. It was also run on Cannes Festival (France) 2005 and finalist of "Oscar" competition for the best foreign language film in the US in 2005. It was chosen from 600 foreign films and entered the second round of the “Oscar" competition, but was withdrawn in the last moment.
Tengo Zakareishvili, his youngest son: “Last time we were together in Moscow, my father said that he would finish his last project “Caucasus Bestseller” with an inscription ‘sorry we were good guys but born in bad times and in bad place’. His son also added that his father had told him that he may give up directing after this film on April 9 th tragedy. "Caucasus Bestseller", continues to be directed by his son Tengo Zakareishvili, a young film director who has done a number of short films.