Taming the Garden is a 2021 documentary[1] film directed by Salomé Jashi, a former journalist.[3][1] It was nominated for the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.[1]

Taming the Garden
Directed bySalomé Jashi[1]
Produced byVadim Jendreyko, Erik Winker, Martin Roelly, Salomé Jashi[1]
Release date
  • 2021 (2021)
CountriesSwitzerland, Germany, Georgia[2]

Synopsis

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The film documents the extreme lengths that Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's former prime minister and the world's 349th[4] richest billionaire,[5] goes to acquire trees for the construction of the Shekvetili Dendrological Park, an arboretum on his estate on the coast of the Black Sea.[3][6][7]

Release

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The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival .[8]

Reception

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Critical response

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Claire Armitstead said, "Taming the Garden is far from a balanced two-minute news report; it stands at the junction of documentary and myth".[9][10]

Awards and nominations

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It was nominated for the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.[1] It was nominated for the 34th European Film Awards.[11][12] It was nominated for the Audience Award, Insights at the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival. It won in the international DOCU/WORLD Competition at DocuDays UA International Documentary Human Rights Film Festival.[13][14]

Salomé Jashi

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Salomé Jashi was born in 1981, in Tbilisi, Georgia. She graduated from Tbilisi State University and the Caucasian School of Journalism and Media Management at Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.[15] Later working as a reporter for a few years. In 2005, she received a scholarship from British Council, to study documentary filmmaking, at Royal Holloway, University of London.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Your Guide to All the Women-Helmed Projects at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival". Sundance Institute. Retrieved 20 January 2022. WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION...TAMING THE GARDEN Director Salomé Jashi; producers: Vadim Jendreyko, Erik Winker, Martin Roelly, Salomé Jashi; Switzerland/Germany/Georgia
  2. ^ "Taming the Garden". Vancouver International Film Festival. The Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b Turner, Matt (10 February 2021). "Taming the Garden: Salomé Jashi's documentary poses a singular question — what is a tree really worth?". The Calvert Journal. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. ^ Smith, Heather (18 March 2021). "Rich Man, Big Tree". Sierra Club. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Bidzina Ivanishvili". FORBES LISTS. Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022. #589 Billionaires 2021
  6. ^ Nechepurenko, Ivan (17 January 2022). "A Love of Trees or a Display of Power? The Odd Park of an Oligarch". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Tree makes sea voyage for Georgia park project". BBC News. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  8. ^ Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Armitstead, Claire (14 January 2022). "Root of the problem: the brutal creation of a billionaire's pleasure garden". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  10. ^ da Costa, Cassie (June 9, 2021). "SECOND NATURE: Salomé Jashi's Taming the Garden (2020)". artforum. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Documentary Selection". European Film Awards. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (August 24, 2021). "European Film Awards Reveals First Wave Of Feature & Documentary Hopefuls For 2021". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "Taming the Garden and Ivan's Land win big at Docudays UA". Cineuropa. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Berlinale to Showcase Salomé Jashi's Documentary 'Taming the Garden'". Georgia Today. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Ekaterine Maghaldadze". Eurasia Foundation. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Milano: Directors Jashi and Borecký on Documenting reality at 'Visioni dal Mondo' 2021". Lampoon Magazine. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
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