Festival program 2025

MESTIA INTERNATIONAL SHORT AND MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL 29.07-02.08 2026

Program

Jury

Roberto Zazzara

Italian filmmaker Roberto Zazzara is a director, cinematographer, and writer, with a focus on visually striking narratives. A graduate of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, he made his fiction feature debut with The Bunker Game (2022), released worldwide. His latest documentary, Carne et Ossa (2023) won multiple festival awards and had a theatrical release. As a cinematographer, Zazzara has worked on international projects, including India’s Boomika, a Netflix success. He has collaborated with major platforms like Netflix, Studiocanal, and Disney, with work spanning fiction, documentary, and interactive storytelling.

Michael Chauvistré

Michael Chauvistré (born 1960, Aachen) is a German documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and producer. He studied at the University of Television and Film Munich and co-founded Happy Endings Film in 1988. Since 1990, he has directed and shot numerous documentaries, including Rent a Santa Claus, To Moscow with IKEA, and Beer Brothers, which screened at international festivals and aired on German television. He is a member of the German Film Academy, the Directors Guild (BVR), and represents the guild at FERA.

François d’Artemare

François d’Artemare founded Les Films de l’après-midi in 2001, producing and co-producing acclaimed films worldwide. His credits include Snow (Bosnia, Cannes Critics’ Week Award), The Hero (Angola, Sundance Jury Prize), Bad Living and Music (Portugal and Germany, Silver Bears, Berlin), and others from Romania, Bangladesh, Tunisia, and France. His work regularly features at major festivals like Cannes, Berlin, TIFF, and Locarno.

Rusudan Glurjidze

Rusudan Glurjidze is a Georgian film director, screenwriter, and producer. She first studied French language and literature at Tbilisi State University, then went on to study film directing and screenwriting at the Georgian State Film and Theatre Institute.

She has won several major awards at international film festivals and is regarded as one of Georgia’s most prominent film directors. Her film “House of Others” was Georgia’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. In 2024, she was submitted as a Georgian Oscar nominee for a second time, this time with “Antiquity.”

Giorgi Kharebava

Giorgi Kharebava is a Georgian film director, cinematographer, and editor, currently serving as a board member at Georgian Film Studio. He is also the founder of GFM Studio and holds the position of Associate Professor and Head of Administration at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University.

He began his career with the award-winning short film Unscrupulous and has since established himself as a two-time Golden Eye Award recipient. His latest documentary, To the Moon by Bicycle, has earned widespread critical acclaim.