At the Edge of the World

AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD was shot in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in 1991 - the year when the country became independent. The film was continued twelve months later, in 1992 - the year of the civil war.

It is the beginning of a young democracy. Statues are toppling, squares are being renamed. Everything seems to be changing after decades of oppression and isolation. "Freedeom" and "Homeland" are the visions of a hopeful future.

But what follows is "the time of war": Conflicts between supporters and opponents of the former powers characterize life on the streets of Tbilisi. Bloodshed and terror from bomb shelling become part of everyday existence - just as funerals.

AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD follows these traces of death. The film is not only a report on the conflicts and fighting as such, but also a portrayal of the repercussions the war has on the fate of individuals. The film also describes an unstoppable radicalization of violence.

AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD is filled with personal encounters: Levan Shanidze, a young TV cameraman, who is caught in Tbilisi during the outbreak of the conflict and captures these moments on film in an extraordinary way; Merab Ninidze, a young actor, who was in Europe at the time of the civil war in Georgia, and who tells us about his return to Georgia as a stranger; Tako Tsharkviani, a pianist, who conjure up the images of a lost homeland in her somber pieces; or Levan Jordanishvili, an English teacher, who, all of a sudden, finds himself an officer of the Georgian army, with a gun in his hand.

AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD is not a political analysis. It conjures up a life that has ceased to exist.