01

Censorship in Cinema

​A talk by Gogi Gvakharia

Moderated by Salome Asatiani

24 ივნისი, 2024

DOCA invited renowned film critic and journalist Gogi Gvakharia to talk about his collection of essays Censorship in Cinema. 

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Georgia's government plans to legalise censorship. A new bill, which intends "to protect family values", in fact is a way to control over art and creative expression.

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In 2021 Indigo Publication and Ilia State University published a collection of essays Censorship in Cinema, written by art critic, Radio Free Europe / Radio Freedom journalist Gogi Gvakharia. The book bring together cases censorship from the past. However, the book gains value on the backdrop of the discussed bill on protection of family values. 

02

Creative Editing

A talk by Jacopo Quadri

Moderated by Rati Oneli

April 26, 2024

Jacopo Quadri (Milan, 1964) is an award-winning Italian editor. He is a long-time collaborator of Gianfranco Rossi having edited his Below Sea Level, Fuocoammare (Berlinale's Golden Bear) and Sacro GRA (Venice Film Festival Prize Winner). Jacopo has also collaborated with Bernando Bertolucci and was an editor of The Dreamers and Io e Te.

03

The Law on Foreign Agents

A talk by Guro Imnadze and Mariam Gogesashvili

May, 2024

The Law on the Transparency of Foreign Influence creates new challenges for the documentary film industry in Georgia and puts it under risk. 

DOCA invited lawyers Guro Imnadze and Mariam Gogesahsvili to talk about the law, its influence and consequences.

The meeting was only open for DOCA members and partners. 

read our blog on the topic

The Foreign Agents LawThe Parliament of Georgia has already adopted and is introducing laws that will significantly complicate, even endanger our work.

Enforced from August 2024, the foreign agents law (officially the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence) requires non-commercial organizations and media outlets to register in a special state registry of “organizations bearing the interests of a foreign power” if at least 20% their income comes from foreign sources. For refusal to register, excessively high fines will be applied.

The law authorizes the Ministry of Justice to monitor and request any kind of information, including personal data, from civil society and media organizations, any time on the basis of a decision of a state official or based on an anonymous letter/notification by anyone.

The legislation bears similarities to the laws currently in effect in Russia and Belarus.

The law poses a threat to the work of DOCA, similar to most civil society organizations in Georgia, classifying them as "agents of a foreign country". Some production companies, that are registered as non-commercial entities, might also be labeled so.