IDFA 2017
City of the Sun
Rati Oneli
Georgia, United States, Qatar, Netherlands
2017
100 min
Dutch Premiere
The Georgian city of Chiatura was once a thriving manganese mining town. Now it's a dismal place, the bleakness of its empty streets and crumbling factory buildings only deepened by a dense layer of gray clouds. Rati Oneli surely intended the title of his film City of the Sun to be ironic. His camera roams this post-apocalyptic ghost town, capturing arresting shots of the mountainous landscape and industrial wasteland, and stopping off with the handful of people who, despite everything, live a life like any other in this cheerless place. They have jobs to go to, they have hobbies and they have ambitions. We meet a miner who spends his evenings on the theater stage, two skinny girls training for the Olympics, and a music teacher earning extra cash selling metal he hacks from half-demolished buildings. With calmness and integrity, Oneli shares his observations of a depleted society forgotten by the outside world.
Credits
Director
Executive producer
Archil Kavtaradze,
Zurab Zutia Kapanadze
Archil Kavtaradze,
Zurab Zutia Kapanadze
Editing
Cinematography
Sound
Sofia Matrosova,
Alexey Kobzar
Sofia Matrosova,
Alexey Kobzar
Sound Design
World Sales
Syndicado Film Sales
Syndicado Film Sales
Screening copy
Syndicado Film Sales
Syndicado Film Sales
Co-production
Starksales INC
Starksales INC
Music
Jean-Philippe Rameau,
Johnny Jewel,
Chromatics Jewel
Jean-Philippe Rameau,
Johnny Jewel,
Chromatics Jewel