THE WHITE CARAVAN
(თეთრი ქარავანი)
Dirs. Eldar Shengelaia, Tamaz Meliava, 1963.
Georgia. 93 min.
In Georgian with English subtitles.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 - 10PM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 - 7:30PM
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 - 5PM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 - 10PM

THE WHITE CARAVAN follows its narrator Gela, who is the eldest son of Martia, a shepherd who leads a group of seven as they guide their flock of sheep across the challenging landscape of Georgia to their winter pasture. The flock is their village’s main economic livelihood, with the entire population relying upon its success. The work is hard and the terrain dangerous.

Gela is unhappy and despondent, feeling trapped in his life with the flock on the road. Lured by the excitement and possibilities of the city he abandons his group, his flock, and the love of his fiancee for ‘greener pastures’. But after a tragic accident brings him back, what regrets await him? Was chasing a dream a mistake? What does it mean to live?

THE WHITE CARAVAN is the 3rd feature film that Shengelaia worked on in a directorial role, sharing responsibilities with Tamaz Meliava. While it is the earliest film we are presenting in this series, in some regards it feels the grandest in scale. Walking a line between a rural slice of life, and an epic western. The film utilizes both the relationship of the father and the son, as well as the countryside and the city, to discuss Georgia’s national identity and the schism between tradition and modernity, old and new. Two sides of the same coin, one looking forward, the other looking back, unable to see one another face to face. Some New York transplants might feel this one in their bones.