The Encounter is co-directed by Anna Khazaradze with the script by Ina Ivanceanu and Tatia Skhirtladze. The producers are Anna Khazaradze and Nino Chichua of 1991 Productions in Tbilisi, Karin Berghammer of berg hammer film in Austria. Sarita Matijevic of Playground Produkcija from Serbia and Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu of Austria's Amour Fou.

Meeting again after almost thirty years, the four native Georgian female players, Nona Gaprindashvili, Nana Alexandria, Maia Chiburdanidze and Nana Ioseliani, comprised the Soviet team from the 1960s to the 1980s, twice winning the world chess championships, and went on to achieve outstanding individual successes. They fought their way to the top of the chess world in the post-Stalin era, when women players were a rarity and considered intellectually inferior. The film combines archive footage and present day material.

The Encounter is  made with financial commitment from the Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) and from The Arts and Culture Division of the Federal Chancellery of Austria (BKA).

“The total budget is 400,000 EUR and the grant from GNFC is worth 55,000 GEL, which in Euros is 20,992, but the total Georgian contribution is 20%,” the producers told FNE. 

Further support and pre-financing has been provided by Linda Jensen’s Silver Bullet Kft.

Production Information:
1991 Productions (Georgia)
www.1991productions.com 
berg hammer film (Austria)
Playground Produkcija (Serbia)
http://playground-produkcija.net/ 
Amour Fou (Austria)

Credits:
Directed by Tatia Skhirtladze
Co-directed by Anna Khazaradze
Script by Ina Ivanceanu and Tatia Skhirtladze