The Antique / Antikvariati features two Georgian lovers, who “dance on their own fine line between intimacy and rupture” in a “mesmerising, many-layered film set in St. Petersburg in 2006, a time when thousands of Georgians were illegally deported to Russia”, according to a press release from Giornate degli Autori.
A young Georgian woman, Medea, who recently sold her house in Georgia, visits an apartment in St. Petersburg’s historic centre. It is on sale for a very low price, but it comes together with its owner, an old man named Vadim Vadimich. Medea is pleased with everything, even the prospect of having an old man as a flatmate doesn’t scare her. She is ready to move immediately and start a new life, but she should have a month-long probation period.
“The Antique is a heart-warming parable about the hopes and aspirations of migrants in an uncertain world, but it also illustrates the indiscriminate and cruel ways in which politics derail human lives. (…)The political message at the core of our film is both powerful and essential, shedding light on a crucial but often overlooked event”, said Rusudan Glurjidze in a statement. She co-wrote the script together with an anonymous writer, whose identity is kept secret to ensure safety.
The Antique was shot from 25 January 2022 to 11 April 2022 in Sankt Petersburg and Tbilisi with a budget of 892,000 EUR, producer Zurab Magalashvili told FNE.
He also talked about what distinguishes his collaboration with Rusudan Glurjidze since her debut feature House of Others (2016). “We admire the unique sensitivity and poetic touch with which Rusudan Glurjidze addresses major political issues in Georgia, topics that remain relatively unknown in Western Europe. In The House of Others, she explores the aftermath of the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia through the lens of two families. In The Antique she vividly portrays the illegal and violent deportation of her compatriots. This film, like The House of Others, tackles political themes using fiction to subtly address the complex issue of immigration. The Antique condemns Putin’s inhuman regime, telling viewers about the illegal, mass deportation of Georgians from the Russian Federation in 2006. In 2014, Georgia won the case against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg”, Zurab Magalashvili told FNE.
The film was produced by Georgia’s Cinetech, Switzerland’s Cinetrain, Finland’s Whitepoint Digital and Germany’s Basis Berlin Filmproduction. The producers are Zurab Magalashvili, Manana Shevardnadze, Andrey Epifanov, Tanya Petrik, Jussi Myllyniemi and Uschi Feldge, the coproducers include Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tatiana Detlofson, and Marie-Pierre Macia was creative producer.
“I want to express my sincere thanks to my fellow producers. Your support and encouragement have been invaluable during this journey. As a seasoned producer, The Antique has been more than just a project; it’s been an extraordinary expedition filled with complexity and unprecedented challenges”, Magalashvili added.
The project was financed by the Georgian National Film Center, as well as through private investment.
House of Others was the official candidate from Georgia for the Academy of Motion Pictures Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016.
