Samanishvili’s Stepmother

Eldar Shengelaia (1933-2025) is one of Georgia’s leading filmmakers. He also became an important political figure and was a member of the Parliament of Georgia from 1990 to 2004. His father, the director Nikoloz Shengelaia, was one of the founders of Georgian cinema and his mother, Nato Vachnadze, was a leading star of Georgian and Soviet cinema starting in the silent era.

Eldar came to London in his 80th year as a guest of the festival in 2013 and presented An Unusual Exhibition (1968). The festival has also screened Blue Mountains (1983) and A Chair (2016).

The 10th edition of the London Georgian Film Festival is screening two of his earlier films, Samanishvili’s Stepmother and The White Caravan. Samanishvili’s Stepmother is a satirical look at an impoverished noble family based on a classic story by David Kladiashvili. It follows an impoverished nobleman named Bekina Samanishvili who, in his old age, decides to remarry. Terrified of losing a portion of his meagre inheritance if his father has another son, Bekina’s hardworking son Platon schemes to find him a twice-widowed and supposedly “childless” bride. However, his plans backfire leading to comic and ironic results.