HBO acquires rights to riveting Georgian arthouse title

Georgian cinema has yet another thing to shout about as HBO Europe announced its decision to purchase the European rights to Rezo Gigineishvili’s 2017 movie Hostages.

The film, written by novelist Lasha Bugadze, tells the gripping story of the failed 1983 attempt by a group of young Georgians to hijack an Aeroflot flight from Tbilisi to Leningrad, to escape the USSR, and, according to their testimony, live in a freer society.

The film’s glowing reception at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival serves as another reminder of the quality and popularity of Georgian arthouse cinema, as its reputation continues to bloom.

The announcement comes several months after Netflix acquired the rights to Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross’s title, My Happy Family, the charming account of Manana, a middle-aged literature teacher who decides to leave her husband and live alone, going against traditional patriarchal norms.

Source: Georgian Journal