Otar Iosseliani

Otar Iosseliani (1934-2023) was a Georgian and French filmmaker. A prize winner at Berlin, Venice, and Cannes, he helped to define post-war Georgian cinema in his early shorts and three features: Falling Leaves (1966), There Once Was a Singing Blackbird (1970), Pastorale (1971) – before emigrating to France in 1982. His films made in France include Favourites of the Moon (1984) and Farewell, Home Sweet Home (1999); he also shot And Then There Was Light (1988) in Senegal. A graduate of the Georgian musical conservatory, Iosseliani also studied mathematics, had a passion for poetry, and was an accomplished draftsman. His films linger on small details – pausing in front of the modest to reveal wry wonder at the absurdity of life. If one can find a consistent thread in a career and a personality so multifaceted, it would be his tendency to break rules.