- Occupation
Producer, Director - Country
Georgia
Jashi Salome
15 Young by Young
A multimedia documentary project consisting of a series of fresh, colourful insider point-of-view short stories on the present-day life of young people, linked by animated episodes and directed by 15 young and talented filmmakers from the 15 republics formerly annexed by the USSR.
Bakhmaro
A journey into a lively, yet desolate building in a provincial Georgian town. It once used to be a hotel called ‘Bakhmaro’. At the center of the building there is a restaurant with its walls covered in bright green and orange plastic foam and where the tables are set waiting for customers who rarely come. A Chinese shop, slot machines and a political party office can also be found here. The building is a microcosm sodden with the constant anticipation of change. It is a model of one troubled country with its endless demonstrations and opposition rallies. At the same time the backdrop of political situation only mirrors the life people live here.
Speechless
Can silent faces tell stories of horror that these people have gone through… "Speechless" is an experiment with human faces. It is an attempt to tell the story of the tragedy that cannot be expressed through words or dramatic images. Or it might be just a silent space to think about personal accounts of the 5 days of Georgian-Russian war of August, 2008.
The Leader is Always Right
Summer camps financed by the president in Georgia seem to offer lessons in nationalism, hatred and obedience. Since 2005, these camps have been attended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls. The programme is clear: to cultivate a "love of the nation" among children. This primarily means developing animosity towards Russia, which has been interfering with the country's autonomy. Uniforms with the Georgian state symbol, flags on the cabins, ideological slogans and the rule that "the leader is always right" are all things that serve to remind each boy and girl of the past and to demand vengeance. A stark future is outlined when the children leave the camp with a clear idea of what "patriotism" means.
Their Helicopter
This is a gentle and slightly absurdist documentary about the Ardoteli family in the mountains of Georgia who discovered that a Chechen helicopter carrying cheese had crashed by their house. Dropped into the life of this family, a helicopter is gradually enfolded into their daily rhythms, transformed into something utterly unexpected. In this land free of electric cables, cows find a shelter and children set up their private playground in it. Patient observations through the rusted “eyes” of this helicopter unfold a story of a remote place exposed to just one piece of civilisation.
A Mr. Minister
The film shows the character of Bakur Kvezereli, 27 year old minister of agriculture. He is the youngest member in the cabinet of ministers led by Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia. This ambitious young man claims there is nothing he dislikes in himself. Balanced with human feelings the film reveals one piece of the young and controversial Georgian government.
A multimedia documentary project consisting of a series of fresh, colourful insider point-of-view short stories on the present-day life of young people, linked by animated episodes and directed by 15 young and talented filmmakers from the 15 republics formerly annexed by the USSR.
Bakhmaro
A journey into a lively, yet desolate building in a provincial Georgian town. It once used to be a hotel called ‘Bakhmaro’. At the center of the building there is a restaurant with its walls covered in bright green and orange plastic foam and where the tables are set waiting for customers who rarely come. A Chinese shop, slot machines and a political party office can also be found here. The building is a microcosm sodden with the constant anticipation of change. It is a model of one troubled country with its endless demonstrations and opposition rallies. At the same time the backdrop of political situation only mirrors the life people live here.
Speechless
Can silent faces tell stories of horror that these people have gone through… "Speechless" is an experiment with human faces. It is an attempt to tell the story of the tragedy that cannot be expressed through words or dramatic images. Or it might be just a silent space to think about personal accounts of the 5 days of Georgian-Russian war of August, 2008.
The Leader is Always Right
Summer camps financed by the president in Georgia seem to offer lessons in nationalism, hatred and obedience. Since 2005, these camps have been attended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls. The programme is clear: to cultivate a "love of the nation" among children. This primarily means developing animosity towards Russia, which has been interfering with the country's autonomy. Uniforms with the Georgian state symbol, flags on the cabins, ideological slogans and the rule that "the leader is always right" are all things that serve to remind each boy and girl of the past and to demand vengeance. A stark future is outlined when the children leave the camp with a clear idea of what "patriotism" means.
Their Helicopter
This is a gentle and slightly absurdist documentary about the Ardoteli family in the mountains of Georgia who discovered that a Chechen helicopter carrying cheese had crashed by their house. Dropped into the life of this family, a helicopter is gradually enfolded into their daily rhythms, transformed into something utterly unexpected. In this land free of electric cables, cows find a shelter and children set up their private playground in it. Patient observations through the rusted “eyes” of this helicopter unfold a story of a remote place exposed to just one piece of civilisation.
A Mr. Minister
The film shows the character of Bakur Kvezereli, 27 year old minister of agriculture. He is the youngest member in the cabinet of ministers led by Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia. This ambitious young man claims there is nothing he dislikes in himself. Balanced with human feelings the film reveals one piece of the young and controversial Georgian government.
The Station
Senaki TV is a local broadcaster in Georgia’s provincial town of Senaki. Only five people work there. Alex is a journalist with the most journalistic experience at the station and he is proud of it. Davit is a cameraman; Maya, a young girl in her 20s, is an anchor for news. But her voice is more remarkable in Senaki than her appearance. She also reads death announcements over the images of dead persons’ photos. In fact, announcements of death, condolences and remembrance of the dead bring in most of the revenue to the station. The film takes Senaki TV as a hub and journeys together with its journalist around the town as he collects news – such as a local pub closing down. The film consists of scenes, which make it into local news, the ones that form the minds of the local population. These scenes are absurd in the context of the wider world. They are juxtaposed with Alex’s ambition to get a journalist’s position at a big national TV station. While obsession with politics and religious frenzy is taking over the population, the Senaki TV is like a microcosm reflecting on the tendencies occurring throughout the whole country, and maybe even reflecting the whole world in which the information we receive is shaping our lives.
Senaki TV is a local broadcaster in Georgia’s provincial town of Senaki. Only five people work there. Alex is a journalist with the most journalistic experience at the station and he is proud of it. Davit is a cameraman; Maya, a young girl in her 20s, is an anchor for news. But her voice is more remarkable in Senaki than her appearance. She also reads death announcements over the images of dead persons’ photos. In fact, announcements of death, condolences and remembrance of the dead bring in most of the revenue to the station. The film takes Senaki TV as a hub and journeys together with its journalist around the town as he collects news – such as a local pub closing down. The film consists of scenes, which make it into local news, the ones that form the minds of the local population. These scenes are absurd in the context of the wider world. They are juxtaposed with Alex’s ambition to get a journalist’s position at a big national TV station. While obsession with politics and religious frenzy is taking over the population, the Senaki TV is like a microcosm reflecting on the tendencies occurring throughout the whole country, and maybe even reflecting the whole world in which the information we receive is shaping our lives.
Salomé Jashi is a documentary filmmaker from Georgia [1981]. With first degree in journalism she studied documentary filmmaking at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her films are observational discovering tiny details that surprise but also evoke a feeling of some intuitive familiarity. Salomé is a co-founder of production company Sakdoc Film. Through Sakdoc Film Salomé is a project coordinator for project CAUCADOC, which aims to support development of documentary film in the South Caucasus.
Her recent film BAKHMARO received Honorary Mention for a Young Documentary Talent at DOK Leipzig, was awarded for the Best Central and Eastern European Documentary at Jihlava IFF and was nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Silver Eye Awards in 2011. Salomé has recently completed working on a short for documentary film series 15 Young by Young – an individual perception of the 20th anniversary of freedom after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The series was broadcast on ARTE.
The Leader is Always Right (43’). Director / producer / editor. 2010. GeorgiaSpeechless (12’). Director / producer / editor. 2009. GeorgiaA Mr. Minister (16’). Co-director / editor. 2008. VPRO Tegenlicht. Georgia / NetherlandsTheir Helicopter (22’n). Director / editor. 2006. Georgia /UK
Sakdoc Film
24g Khazbegi Ave
Flat 151
0160 Tbilisi
24g Khazbegi Ave
Flat 151
0160 Tbilisi
Docu Talents from the East 2010 - 2010
Project Market - 2013
Their Helicopter (2006) - Lessinia IFF - Verona Province Award (Italy 2008), IDFF CRONOGRAF - TV5 award for Best Image (Moldova 2008), Mexico DOCSDF, Award for Best Short Documentary (2007), Mountain FF Niamory (Georgia, 2007)