A Jehovah’s Witness reckons with an extremist attack and a crisis of faith in “Beginning,” writer-director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s feature debut. A trailer has arrived for the award-winning drama, which has been chosen as Georgia’s submission in the International Feature category for this year’s Oscars.
Set in rural Georgia, “Beginning” tells the story of Yana (IIa Sukhitashvili), the wife of a Jehovah’s Witness. When a Molotov cocktail is thrown into their church during a service, a detective investigates the crime. Still, Yana and her community expect the crime to go unpunished. “It is pointless to talk. The local police know who they are, but no one is ever arrested. This is not the first incident,” we’re told in a new trailer for the film.
Struggling to make sense of the world around her, Yana is facing inner discontent. “There’s something wrong with me,” she admits. “I look in the mirror and a stranger looks back. It’s as if I were waiting for something to start — or to end.”
“Beginning” scored four of the jury’s seven competition prizes at San Sebastian Film Festival: the Golden Shell for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress for Sukhitashvili. It launches on MUBI January 29.
