“The Most Georgian” directed by Paweł Nazaruk
The Most Georgian is a documentary comedy about the quest to find the essence of Georgian identity. Dr. Tomasz Adamski embarks on field research in Georgia, aiming to photograph the “most Georgian” person—someone who embodies our imagined image of Georgia's people. Will it be a powerful hunter moved to tears by his own rendition of a bandura song? Or perhaps a 70-year-old shepherd posing for the camera while doing a cartwheel on the Georgian Military Highway? Or maybe a winemaker from Kakheti, claiming that 80% of Tutankhamun’s DNA is of Georgian origin?
The deeper the journey into Georgia, and the closer it gets to Tbilisi, the more these stereotypical ideas about Georgians begin to unravel. Could the most Georgian be a graffiti artist painting giant murals on Tbilisi’s apartment blocks? Or a warrior from the Horoli group, knocking men to the ground with the swing of her sword—or even her bare hand? Perhaps it’s the head coach of Georgia’s national rugby team, a man who has survived three wars and was raised on the dangerous streets of 1990s Tbilisi? Or maybe it’s an artist whose music bridges generations and reconciles a homophobic father with his gay son?
The Most Georgian is a light-hearted road movie, where the researcher often loses his scholarly distance and becomes the subject of the study himself, swept away by Georgian spontaneity, hospitality, and openness.
How will his Georgian adventure end? Will he find the most Georgian? Does such a person even exist?
The film, directed by Paweł Nazaruk (DogFilm Studio Filmowe), was created in collaboration with Tomasz Adamski and features Maja Beridze, Marine Berdzenadze, Tuti Berdzenadze, Nikoloz Sanikidze, Beka Tsertsvadze, Elene Tsertsvadze, Gela Natoshvili, Vano Sifrashvili, Musya Keburia, Lado Kilasonia, Dato Tsintsadze, Nana Gamkrelidze, Lasha Chapel, and Archil Kikodze.