THE MEN'S LAND
Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani / Georgia / 2024 / 15 min / Colour
Italian premiere
In the scenic village of Ushguli, nestled high in the mountains of Upper Svaneti, Georgia, a young woman dreams of turning her family’s property into a guesthouse for tourists. But she faces an age-old tradition: only sons may inherit the family estate, and if there are none, it passes to the closest male relative. The young woman, who longs to become a singer, feels powerless and shares her frustration with quiet despair. She pleads her case before the village elders, but her voice is dismissed—land and homes are not for women to own. With her rightful claim denied, she channels her protest into song. Music becomes her only refuge, the sole expression of resistance against a tradition she finds humiliating.
Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani
A Georgian director and screenwriter, educated at the University of Theatre and Film in Tbilisi, her short film Dinola (2013) won awards at the River Film Festival in Padua and at the Georgian National Film Center. Her feature debut Dede (2017) won the Jury Prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. She has participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus, the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the Cinéfondation Residence in Cannes, and the Locarno Filmmakers Academy. She also promotes the Svaneti Film Festival in Mestia, Georgia.
