The Kartli Kingdom

Irma Nachkebia

Irma is the beating heart of Kartli. Her small room is a community's shelter. After two heart surgeries and losing everything in Abkhazia, she started anew in a former sanatorium in Tbilisi. Working in a sewing factory for just 300 euros a month, she struggles amid rising inflation. After 33 years of waiting, she received a one-room apartment in the suburbs, but it has bare cement walls, is unfurnished, and lacks heating, forcing her to rebuild her life from almost nothing.

Marina Lomidze

Marina, in her 60s, is Irma's best friend. She lived in Abkhazia until her late 20s but was forced to abandon her bright dreams after the war. To secure a 12-square-meter room in the Kartli sanatorium for herself and four family members, she sold her last remnant of her life in Sukhumi - a golden chain with a cross. Now, Marina works as a second-hand clothing seller in a rented space, unable to afford weekends off or holidays. Alone, she cares for her underage son and her husband, who is in recovery from addiction.

Diana Davlianidze

Diana is cherished as a community caregiver, always ready to lend a hand to the everyday needs of Kartli's people. She advocates for the community's rights and needs when engaging with officials and the media. Understanding the power of humour and laughter as a means to overcome hopelessness and despair, she brings light to those around her. Diana works two jobs to support her teenage daughter and her disabled husband while striving to create a new life in her new, though empty, flat.

Elen Broshe

Elena Broshe, in her late 50s, hails from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion, her building fell within an attack zone. For weeks, she hid in the basement enduring the terror of war - lost friends, and the devastation of losing her home and possessions. When it became too dangerous, she fled to Georgia, taking only her wooden Tai massage set, which she had mastered while living in Thailand. Now, in a vacant room in Kartli, she seeks to give back by offering massage to those who helped her.

Barbare Bitsadze

Barbare, 13, was raised in Chiatura, Georgia, a city plagued by manganese mining. She and her sister Mariam, were born with chronic lung diseases and heart problems due to severe pollution. Their grandmother sheltered them at the Kartli sanatorium to help improve their health. However, the family had to emigrate to Germany for Mariam’s treatment after a harmful misdiagnosis. Now in Jena without legal status, they await potential deportation with only their grandmother’s unfurnished apartment to call home.

Tamar Kalandadze

Tamar Kalandadze (1990, Tbilisi) is a Georgian filmmaker and visual media artist. After studying Art history, she completed a master's program in cinema directing at The Caucasus School of New Cinema. The Kartli Kingdom is her debut film co-directed with Julien Pebrel.

Julien Pebrel

Julien Pebrel is a French director and photographer based in Paris and Tbilisi. His first feature film, The Kartli Kingdom was co-directed with Tamar Kalandadze. His photography, focused on everyday life in regions marked by recent history is published in major outlets and exhibited internationally.