An ode to the rivalry between men and nature, Taming the Garden is the story of how a powerful man indulges in an unusual hobby by having century-old trees uprooted in communities along the Georgian coast and transplanted to his private garden.

Direction: Salomé Jashi

Script: Salomé Jashi

Production: Vadim Jendreyko

Co-Production: Erik Winker, Martin Roelly, Salomé Jashi

Cinematography: Goga Devdariani, Salomé Jashi

Editing: Chris Wright

Sound: Philippe Ciompi

Original Title: TAMING THE GARDEN

Original Language: Georgian

Film Production Countries: Switzerland, Germany, Georgia

Website: https://tamingthegarden-film.com/en/

Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/tamingthegarden

Statement of the Director/s
Some time ago, the entire country of Georgia witnessed a surreal scene – a large tree floating in the sea. That was when we learned that the most powerful man in the country had a new passion – to own century-old trees on his private estate.

Witnessing this image was like seeing a glitch in the real. It was as if I had seen something I should have never seen. It was beautiful, like real-life poetry, but at the same time it seemed to be a mistake, a kind of discomfort.

I embarked on filming this process as Georgia’s whole coastline was involved in implementing one man’s desire. I wanted to explore what was behind this mesmerizingly strange image; to tell about the ambition of a powerful man, who alters landscapes, moves trees, leaves witnesses perplexed – all for the sake of his pleasure.

I am fascinated by environments and how these environments affect people. More precisely, how we perceive others, and ourselves, in specific environments. The contradiction between settings and the people in them is what often drives my vision.

To me, the film does not have a one-dimensional line as to what it is about. The material spoke of many different aspects of life, which found symbolic expressions in the film, such as the idea of manhood, or forced migration, or uprooting, which is not just a physical process. I also relate the theme of uprooting to my country, where values and a sense of stability is constantly floating. I see the film as an evocative journey into a surreal world, which paradoxically is also fact-based.

We were filming for almost two years. I would travel with my small team to the coast each month to try to capture elements for the film. It was a challenging process as nothing was properly planned. We were dependent on the natural elements like wind, rain, unexpected circumstances in the workers’ routine, even the general political situation of the day. The process of transplanting trees was very slow and key elements would happen very fast. But the biggest challenge was connected to the local inhabitants. Since the wealthy man behind the scenes is also the most politically powerful man in the country, they were often scared to even appear in front of the camera fearing possible consequences, the fear which we, like other fragile democracies, have in our blood.

Biography of the Director/s
Salomé Jashi was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1981. She first studied journalism and worked as a reporter for several years. In 2005 she was awarded a British Council scholarship to study documentary filmmaking at Royal Holloway, University of London. Salomé’s THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF SUNSET (2016) was awarded the Main Prize at Visions du Réel’s Regard Neuf Competition as well as at ZagrebDox, Jihlava IDFF, Valdivia IDFF, and several other festivals. Her earlier work, BAKHMARO (2011), made in co-production with ma.ja.de. filmproduktion and MDR/Arte, received an Honorary Mention for a Young Documentary Talent at DOK Leipzig, was awarded as the Best Central and Eastern European Documentary at Jihlava IDFF, and was nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Silver Eye Awards. Salomé is the founder of two production companies: Sakdoc Film and Microcosmos, both producing documentaries and fiction of high artistic quality. She was a fellow of Nipkow Scholarship in 2017 and DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in 2020.

Filmography of the Director/s
2021 TAMING THE GARDEN, documentary
2018 THE TOWER, documentary short
2016 THE DAZZLING LIGHT OF SUNSET, documentary
2011 BAKHMARO, documentary
2010 THE LEADER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, documentary
2009 SPEECHLESS, experimental short
2006 THEIR HELICOPTER, documentary short

Production Company:
Mira Film
Vadim Jendreyko
Schwarzwaldallee 200
Basel, 4058, Switzerland
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +41763431718
Website: http://www.mirafilm.ch/

World Sales:
Syndicado Film Sales
Aleksandar Govedarica
121 Beaconsfield Ave.
Toronto , M6J 3J5, Canada
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +421949635890
Website: https://syndicadofs.com/

Press:
Syndicado Film Sales
Jasmina Vignjevic
121 Beaconsfield Ave.
Toronto , M6J 3J5, Canada
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +38765659214
Website: https://syndicadofs.com/