Nana Djordjadze directed Robinsonada (or My English Grandfather), a Soviet-Georgian comedy, which screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1987 Cannes Film Fest, where it won the Caméra d’Or.
Nana Jorjadze’s first major film is based on her husband Irakli Kvirikadze’s screenplay.
The story concerns an aged Georgian woman recalling her love affair, years earlier, with English telegraph worker.
Shortly before the Soviet take-over of Georgia in 1921, Christopher Hughes is sent to rural Georgia to work on a telegraph line between the UK and India, which runs through Georgian territory.
After the Red Army invades Georgia, the British employees are recalled, but the message ordering him to leave Georgia never reaches Hughes, who has fallen in love with Ana, a Georgian woman in a nearby village.
As Ana’s brother Nestor, however, is a local Bolshevik leader, there ensues a tense situation in which Hughes is caught between his love for Ana and his hostility toward her brother.
Eventually, Hughes and Nestor are reconciled, but in the end both fall victim to a vengeful nobleman dispossessed of his wealth by the new regime.
The theme of foreigners stranded in Soviet Georgia, engaged in love affair with local women, would reappear in Jorjadze’s best-known film, A Chef in Love.
The music is composed by Enri Lolashvili, the brother of actor Janri Lolashvili (who plays Hughes in the film).
Foreigners (mostly students residing in Tbilisi) were used to voice-over the bits of English dialogue.
Camera d’Or Year 10 (1987): Nana Djordjadze’s Soviet-Georgian Comedy, “Robinsonada or My English Grandfather”
Nana Djordjadze directed Robinsonada (or My English Grandfather), a Soviet-Georgian comedy, which screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1987 Cannes Film Fest, where it won the Caméra d’Or.
Nana Jorjadze’s first major film is based on her husband Irakli Kvirikadze’s screenplay.
The story concerns an aged Georgian woman recalling her love affair, years earlier, with English telegraph worker.
Shortly before the Soviet take-over of Georgia in 1921, Christopher Hughes is sent to rural Georgia to work on a telegraph line between the UK and India, which runs through Georgian territory.
After the Red Army invades Georgia, the British employees are recalled, but the message ordering him to leave Georgia never reaches Hughes, who has fallen in love with Ana, a Georgian woman in a nearby village.
As Ana’s brother Nestor, however, is a local Bolshevik leader, there ensues a tense situation in which Hughes is caught between his love for Ana and his hostility toward her brother.
Eventually, Hughes and Nestor are reconciled, but in the end both fall victim to a vengeful nobleman dispossessed of his wealth by the new regime.
The theme of foreigners stranded in Soviet Georgia, engaged in love affair with local women, would reappear in Jorjadze’s best-known film, A Chef in Love.
The music is composed by Enri Lolashvili, the brother of actor Janri Lolashvili (who plays Hughes in the film).
Foreigners (mostly students residing in Tbilisi) were used to voice-over the bits of English dialogue.
Cast
Janri Lolashvili
Nineli Chankvetadze
Guram Pirtskhalava
Elgudzha Burduli
Rusudan Bolkvadze
Tiko Eliosidze
Daredjan Kharshiladze
Shalva Kherkheulidze
Gia Lejava
Yuri Kirs
Caméra d’Or Winning Films (1978-Present)
Alambrista! (1978), US
Northern Lights (1979), US
Adrien’s Story (1980), French
Desperado City (1981), West German
Half a Life (1982), French
The Princess (1983), Hungarian
Stranger Than Paradise (1984), US
Oriana (1985), Venezuela
Noir et Blanc (1986), French
10. Robinsonada or My English Grandfather (1987), Soviet-Georgian
Salaam Bombay! (1988), US
My 20th Century (1989), Hungary
Freeze Die Come to Life (1990)
Toto the Hero (1991), Belgium
Mac (1992), US
The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994)
The White Balloon (1995), Iran
Love Serenade (1996)
20. Suzaku (1997
Slam (1998), US
Marana Simhasanam (1999)
Djomeh (2000)
A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
Seaside (2002)
Reconstruction (2003)
Or (My Treasure) (2004), Israel
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), US
30. The Forsaken Land (2005)
12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), Romania
Jellyfish (2007), Israel
Hunger (2008), UK
Samson and Delilah (2009)
Año bisiesto (2010)
Las Acacias (2011)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), US
Ilo Ilo (2013)
Party Girl (2014)
40. Land and Shade (2015)
Divines (2016)
Montparnasse Bienvenue (2017)
Girl (2018), Belgium
Our Mothers (2019)
Murina (2021)
War Pony (2022), US
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023)
Armand (2024)
49. The President’s Cake (2025)