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Movie Screening — Khabarda (Mikheil Chiaureli, 1931)
Event

Movie Screening — Khabarda (Mikheil Chiaureli, 1931)

05Apr26
SOOOON SPACE Tbilisi, Dimitri Arakishvili #18
Ubani and SOOOON SPACE invite you to the third event of the project “Cinematic Cityscape: Tbilisi Urban Narratives in Film,” featuring a screening of “Khabarda” (1931), directed by Mikheil Chiaureli, and a sound performance by Nana Takvarelia & Ben Wheeler.

"Khabarda," or "Step Aside," is a silent film released in 1931, directed by Mikheil Chiaureli. This satirical comedy takes its title from a phrase commonly shouted by Tbilisi cab drivers, meaning "Give us way." The film's title references a futuristic revolt that urges people to "step aside" anyone who obstructs the grand construction of Tbilisi as a socialist city and the broader plan to reconstruct its streets.

Ana Chorgolashvili’s introductory talk will examine the political and sociocultural context of the movie. It will further address the architectural and urban transformations of Tbilisi in the 1920s and introduce the artistic movements that informed the movie’s visual language, dramaturgy, and narrative structure.

This silent movie will be accompanied by a live soundtrack from Nana Takvarelia and Ben Wheeler, which utilises the musicians’ unique approach to sound design, blending library samples, field recording, and synthesis.

The experimentalism and diversity of the hybrid score is meant to mirror the ethos of Georgia’s early silent films, while providing a distinct and contrasting pacing. In particular, sounds accompanying propagandic portions of the film do not enhance the intended ideological effect, but instead serve as shifting sonic backdrops, changing focus and altering perceptions.
Nana Takvarelia & Ben Wheeler

Program

20:00
Opening talk by Ana Chorgolashvili
20:30
Screening of “Khabarda” & Sound performance
21:30
Refreshments & Informal discussions

Bio of the musicians

Nana Takvarelia A musician and environmentalist who works with sound through synthesis, acoustic instruments, and field recordings. Trained as a classical pianist, she also studied music technology with a focus on composition. Her work primarily features piano performances, often accompanied by modular synthesis and her own field recordings. She is deeply engaged with sound ecology and the exploration of sonic textures.
Ben Wheeler A musician, musicologist, and educator. His music features elements and structures of folk traditions that are recontextualized and highlighted through the use of modular synthesis and other experimental sonic practices. He teaches synthesis courses at Creative Education Studio in Tbilisi.

Collaborator

SOOOON SPACE Founded and curated by Flowgardenz, SOOOON SPACE is an independent multidisciplinary space in Tbilisi that brings together a studio, a gallery, a library, and a garden. It creates an environment where art, design, nature research, and contemporary cultural practices coexist and enhance one another.

Visitors Info

Entrance
20 GEL (the tickets can be purchased at the door)
Language
The talk will be in English; the movie is silent with Russian intertitles and simultaneous English translation

Events

25Jan26 Event Movie Screening — April (Otar Iosseliani, 1961) 08Mar26 Event Movie Screening — Abezara (Nikoloz Sanishvili, 1956)

More stories

News Ubani, in collaboration with SOOOON SPACE, is launching a new screening series — “Cinematic Cityscape: Tbilisi Urban Narratives in Film”