PANOPTICON

Georgia, France, Italy, Romania / 95min

Synopsis

After his father abandons him to become an Orthodox monk, Sandro struggles to reconcile his duty to God and his awakening sexuality, which manifests in uncontrollable ways and leads him to questionable behavior, as he searches for meaning and belonging in the turbulent society of post-Soviet Georgia. The story is not just important for the Georgian society today, it is also relevant to many other countries at the moment. Strong currents of nationalism, Fascism and religious intolerance, and just intolerance against everything that is different have surfaced in many places and yet we tend to forget that the biggest effects of such movements can be seen in teenagers, as this vulnerable age is when a personality of an individual is shaped.

Festivals and AWARDS

Karlovy vary International film festival (Ecumenical jury Special mention), Asia Pacific screen awards (Best new performer), Montpellier Mediterranean film festival 2024 (Best film)

Film Director: by George Sikharulidze

George SIKHARULIDZE is a Georgian-American filmmaker. His short films include The Fish that Drowned (2014), which premiered at the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival, Red Apples (2016) and A New Year (2018) which were both selected at the Toronto International Film Festival and Fatherland, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019. His first feature film Panopticon (2024) was developed at the Cinéfondation Residence of Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Torino Script Lab 2019 and Torino Feature Lab 2020. It premiered in the main competition at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where it received the prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Previously, George has taught screenwriting and directing at New York University and Columbia University.