Experiencing Interruptions?

Self-portrait along the borderline

An abandoned house opens the door to revisit the past by bringing to life a unique, nearly destroyed image archive from the unrecognised territory on the border of the Black Sea: Abkhazia. A place normally inaccessible for Georgians because of the ethnic conflict that happened between Georgia and Abkhazia back in 1993. Combining voice, archive and recent footage, the film examines a lost and split identity stuck between the margins. The audio-visual fragments of this archive are intricately woven together to create a personal and political biography that recalls the complicated and controversial historical past of Georgian-Abkhaz relationships.

The highly personal narration delves into the complexities of nationalism and identity in times of war and global displacement. Ultimately, these reflections on recent history become a potential manual for what can come next, once the wars are over.

  • Anna Dziapshipa
    Director
  • Anna Dziapshipa
    Producer
    Bakhmaro, Double Aliens, What we see when we look at the sky
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    ავტოპორტრეტი ზღვარზე
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Other
  • Runtime:
    50 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Georgia
  • Country of Filming:
    Georgia
  • Language:
    Georgian, Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Visions du Reel
    Nyon
    Switzerland
    April 24, 2023
    World Premiere
    Jury Prize for the best Medium Length Film
  • Sarajevo Film Festival
    Sarajevo
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    August 17, 2023
    Regional Premiere
    Competition Programme - Documentary Film
  • Ardèche images - lussasdoc
    Lussas
    France
    August 21, 2023
    French
    Docmonde Programme
  • SEOUL International Women's Film Festival
    Seoul
    Korea, Republic of
    August 26, 2023
    Asian Premiere
    Polemics: Images, Describing Resistance
  • Cinedoc Tbilisi
    Batumi
    Georgia
    September 22, 2023
    Georgian Premiere
    Documentary Competition
  • Sevil International Women's Documentary Film Festival
    Baku
    Azerbaijan
    September 17, 2023
    Azerbaijani Premiere
    Best Feature-Length Documentary
  • International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
    Leipzig
    Germany
    October 10, 2023
    German Premiere
    Panorama: Central and Eastern Europe
  • Frontdoc 2023
    Aosta
    Italy
    October 24, 2023
    Italian Premiere
    Best Mid Lenght documentary
  • Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin
    Berlin
    Germany
    November 26, 2023
    Georgian Focus
Director Biography - Anna Dziapshipa

Anna Dziapshipa, born in 1982 and based in Tbilisi, Georgia, is a filmmaker and a producer specializing in documentary film. With a background in art history, film production, and cultural management, Anna explores themes of memory, identity, and the transformation of physical borders.

The last fiction film of Aleksandre Koberidze “What We See When We Look at the Sky” which she co-produced was part of the main competition of the Berlin International Film Festival (FIPRESCI award) and had a theatrical release in the USA, Germany, France, etc. She is also the author of several short films: The Hunter Erects the city (2018) 7’, Dear Dirty Tbilisi (2016) 11’ On Being Dziapshipa (2018) 8’ A House Left in a Dream (2021) 8’ etc. She is a producer of Salome Jashi’s first documentary “Bakhmaro” and together with her is a co-founder and director of the documentary film company Sakdoc Film. Anna shapes the company's artistic vision and provides support to documentary filmmakers in Georgia and the South Caucasus region. She is also a co-founder of the DOCA – Documentary Film Association Georgia.

Anna collaborates with various platforms and organizations, lending her skills as a writer, lecturer, and tutor. Her works have gained recognition in international film festivals and art exhibitions. Anna, a 2022 Fulbright scholar, conducted her research at the University of Arkansas, focusing on the development of a syllabus for documentary production. She has been teaching this course since 2016 at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs in the Department of Audio-Visual Studies.

Her middle-length documentary, "Self-portrait Along the Borderline," premiered at Visions du Reel in April 2023, where it received the prestigious Jury Prize for Best Medium Length Film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

‘Self-portrait along the borderline’ is a documentary, composed from home videos, my family's photo archive, official TV and radio archives and videos of my grandfather’s football matches. My approach is to us the archive materials in a subjective and personal way, as to allow the spectator to experience it through my eyes. An essential part of the film is the sound. I also have access to exclusive material that captures the current atmosphere in Abkhazia. Although this is my personal story, I want to address the broad spectrum of challenges we all are facing. The constant struggle to improve and to find a place in today's geopolitical context, and to find or to become free from the concept of home or identity. Thus, ‘Self-portrait along the borderline’ offers a space to reflect, rethink the past, and listen to the very recent history of this forgotten conflict. There are some films made in Abkhazia or about Abkhazia but rarely from the filmmakers that are connected to this place biographically or physically. This film is an attempt to balance my Georgian and Abkhaz perspectives about this complex and forgotten conflict.