Supporting Role
Awarded in Rotterdam, Beijing and Sarajevo, this surreal drama shows how a supporting role can outshine the lead.
Approaching 60, Niaz Ninua belongs to a fading era of heroic leading men in Georgian cinema. Once a star, he now finds himself in an industry that has moved on without him. Suddenly, ambitious young director Aza insists that only Niaz can play a supporting role in her debut sci-fi film. Her vision is unconventional: his character must shed his skin like a snake, and instead of a script she gives him a hand-drawn storyboard and a long monologue. Learning that his character dies at the end, Niaz is insulted by what he considers pretentious nonsense and asks for three days to decide.
Sarajevo Best Director winner Ana Urushadze (daughter of “Tangerines” director Zaza Urushadze) offers a satirical take on a rapidly changing film industry through absurdist humour and dreamlike melancholy. Niaz’s nocturnal wanderings through Tbilisi unfold to Sten Sheripov’s mysterious jazz score, awarded Best Music at the Beijing International Film Festival. Estonian producer Ivo Felt continues his long-standing support of Georgian cinema.
Edvinas Pukšta
Biography
Ana Urushadze (1990) was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. Graduated from Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University in 2013. She has written and directed several shorts, including “One Man Loved Me” (2012) and “Ideas” (2010). Her debut feature, “Scary Mother”(2017), which she wrote and directed, received numerous international awards, including Best First Feature at Locarno, Best Feature Film and the Cineuropa Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and the Jury Grand Prize and Best Actress award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She also won Best Director at the Gijón International Film Festival and the Golden Gate Award for New Director at the San Francisco International Film Festival. “Supporting Role” (2026) is her second feature film.
Filmography
Sashishi deda (Scary Mother, 2017), Supporting Role (2026)
Award for Best Baltic Film, grant of 5000€ from Piletilevi
Screenings
