Private Project

NEIGHBOUR

Beso is a father of three – Luka (21), Ana (17) and Ika (4). Ever since the passing of their mother, Ana is left to take care of the family and is doing her best to serve as a mother figure to her brothers. One day, the family is disrupted by an intrusion of two construction workers from the neighboring flat, who accidentally smash down a part of the common wall. Ana and Beso trust the workers to restore the wall immediately, however, the situation aggravates when Ana’s little brother, Ika disappears. Ana suspects that Ika was abducted by the workers. The Father, instead of making an effort to find Ika, idly watches TV and hopes that the four-year-old will come back on his own.
Ana is desperate and is looking for Ika everywhere, demanding from the workers that they take responsibility. But she is left alone in her struggle and doesn’t receive any support from her father or brother; Beso doesn’t have the courage to stand up to the workers, while Zuka doesn't seem to mind them and even becomes friendly with the intruders.
Meanwhile, as the workers get comfortable around the house, using the family’s belongings and even eating their food - everyone forgets about the missing child. Ana’s attempts to bring light to her brother’s disappearance slowly diminishes, as her protest is consumed by the daily routine of her family. Finally nihilism takes over.
One day when Ana returns home, she realises that a large portion of her apartment is occupied. What was once her home is now part of the neighbour’s flat with a massive wall cutting the living room in half. The father cozily sits in the remaining corner of the apartment and watches TV. Untroubled by the new reality, he seems happy that the construction work is over. He joyfully informs Ana that he has hired a cleaning lady to save her from tidying after the construction. Ana seems grateful as she carelessly strolls along the wall, smiling widely at her father.

  • David Borchkhadze
    Director
    Seazone, Arena
  • David Borchkhadze
    Writer
    Seazone
  • Sandro Gabilaia
    Producer
  • Maia Gurabanidze
    Producer
  • Tamar Tvaradze
    Producer
  • Masho Tevdorashvili
    Producer
  • Anastasia Davidson
    Key Cast
    "Ana"
  • Kakha Kobaladze
    Key Cast
    "Beso"
  • Sandro Gabilaia
    Key Cast
    "Worker #1"
  • Soso Khvedelidze
    Key Cast
    "Worker #2"
  • Luka Topuridze
    Key Cast
    "Zuka"
  • Atu Beridze
    Key Cast
    "Ika"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    Georgia
  • Country of Filming:
    Georgia
  • Language:
    Georgian
  • Shooting Format:
    Alexa XT, Anamorphic Format 2:39
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - David Borchkhadze

I have been working on the set since the age of 16. During my career path I have undertaken different roles: I started as an editor and worked in almost all TV channels in Georgia, later I worked as a director of several TV shows, including one the first reality shows in Georgia. My experience also includes working at the playback, working as a cameraman. At the age of 21, I started independently shooting the biggest commercials in Georgia as a director. I have shot over 300 commercials. At the age of 26 I shot the episode of the film “Tbilisi Love Story” and soon after that I shot my first independent feature film “Seazone” in 2010. In 2019, I shot the first ever interactive 3-hour commercial film in Georgia “Arena”.
After a 10 year pause since my first feature film, I decided that I was ready to shoot the short film “Neighbour.

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Director Statement

FREEDOM as the highest value, and INDIFFERENCE as the greatest vice – these two concepts have been boiling in my head for quite some time, as I’ve been thinking about how to translate them into a film, to deliver the message to the widest possible audience.
20% of my country, Georgia, is occupied by the Russian Federation. The occupation has not been a single act, in fact it has been ongoing for decades. In the course of my life, I have lived through 3 wars in Georgia. And even if the process has not been recognized as an actual “war” since 2008, we keep losing our territories on a daily basis to the so-called “borderization”. What bothers me the most, is that we are also undergoing a “mental” occupation – somehow the population and the Government of Georgia have gotten used to the creeping occupation and calmly observe as real people are being kidnapped from their own yards and disappear behind barbed wires every day.
With this film, I wanted to express the enormous feeling of injustice, which has accumulated in me and tried to depict how our own apathy makes us more miserable every day. I didn’t want to base the film on mere facts, which is why I came up with the idea, that the audience should not guess what the film is actually about till the very end.
The action takes place in an ordinary Georgian family, but unexpectedly the plot develops so that the fate of the family members becomes unpredictable. The inspiration behind this volatile and strange behaviour of the characters is based on the nature of Georgian- Russian relations (both historic and current).
The attitude of the family members towards the problem varies by age: Ana, a teenager, is protesting the intrusion of the workers; while the older members of the family demonstrate indifference. We see the same trends in Georgia, as youth groups are more prone to protest rather than older generations.
The film is structured in a way that evokes the feeling of anger towards the characters of the film. The beginning of the film doesn’t hint at the theme of the occupation, nor does it imply a political message. Therefore, not all viewers will be able to identify with the message behind the film; However, the presented issue of indifference can be generalized to every problem: our daily routine consumes us so much, that we do not have any will-power or resource to focus on what is really important to us. We simply learn to adjust to everything - we even get used to the problems which are vital for our existence and well- being.
The film is about nonchalance and negligence in general and therefore has no nationality either. Irritated by what seems as irrational behaviour of the characters, the viewer may be able to identify oneself among them and hopefully realise what indifference can lead to.