Levan Koguashvili ( ka, ლევან კოღუაშვილი; March 18, 1973) is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He studied in

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

after graduating school.

Biography

Levan Koguashvili was born in 1973 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He began his studies at the State Institute of Film and Theatre in Tbilisi, and then worked as a journalist for independent television after civil war broke out in Georgia. He studied Film Directing at the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

between 1994 and 1999. He Graduated from the Tisch School of Art's Graduate Film Program in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 2006 and he made several short films and documentaries. His 2006 short film, The Debt, was an Official Selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and his documentary, Women from Georgia, was selected for the Panorama section of the 2009

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internation ...

. Levan lived in

where he made several short films and documentaries. His first feature film, '' Street Days'', which was made in 2010, won several international prizes including Tiger Award at

Rotterdam International Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' observed that "Absurdity and despair, in equal measure, infuse the decaying urban landscape of the Tbilisi-set ''Street Days.''" His second feature ''

Blind Dates ''Blind Dates'' ( ka, Brma Paemnebi) is a 2013 Georgian drama film directed by Levan Koguashvili. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. It also won the Best Feature Film award ...

'', made in 2013, won the Special Jury Award at the

Abu Dhabi Film Festival The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF; ar, مهرجان أبو ظبي السينمائي), formerly the Middle East International Film Festival, was an international film festival held in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007 to 20 ...

2013 in "section New Horizons". His third feature, '' Brighton 4th'', in 2021, won the best picture award at the

Asian World Film Festival The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) is an annual film festival based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Kyrgyz filmmaker, Sadyk Sher-Niyaz in 2015. In its inaugural year, the festival ran from October 26 to November 2. Its awards are known ...

in Los Angeles, and three awards each at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

and FilmFestival Cottbus.

Filmography

Feature

* ''The Debt '' (2006), (short) * '' Street Days'' (2010) * ''

'' (2013) * '' Brighton 4th'' (2021)

Documentary

* ''Women from Georgia'' (2009) * '' Gogita's New Life'' (2016)

References

External links

*
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
1973 births Living people Film directors from Georgia (country) Screenwriters from Georgia (country) Film people from Tbilisi Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni {{Georgia-film-director-stub