In Blueberry Dreams (2024), Elena Mikaberidze skillfully crafts a story that lovingly captures the essence of Georgian rural life – a compelling experience on the intersection of personal aspirations and historical context with a heartfelt depiction of resilience, self-discovery, and the unwavering quest for a brighter future.
Blueberry Dreams (Lurji Motsvi) follows Soso, a good-hearted father who prompts his family of four to start a blueberry farm to secure their future. Nestled in northern Georgia, their village lies near the troubled border with the Russian-backed region of Abkhazia, where tensions have persisted for three decades. Memories of war burden Soso’s wife, Nino and envisions a world beyond for her children, while Soso remains committed to preserving their bond with the land. Meanwhile, their children dream of a different path, drawn to anime and imagining a future in Japan. As they go about their daily lives, the family balances hardship, moments of joy, and reflections on what the future might hold.
In early February 2025, Kitchen Conversations teamed up with From Julia’s Desk to host a live communal event in Berlin. As part of the evening’s programme, there was also the screening of Mikaberidze’s film. A few days after that, Elena sat down with Patrycja Rozwora to record the podcast. Born in 1988 in Georgia, Elena spent much of her life in Brussels. With an MA in Eastern Europe & Caucasus Studies, she explored war representation in Georgian cinema. She returned to her homeland in 2016 and has started to direct films and work for Tbilisi IFF as a programmer. She is an alumnus of Filmmakers for Peace, From Script 2 Film, EurasiaDOC, EAVE Change, and BDC Discoveries. Blueberry Dreams, her latest documentary premiered at the 2024 CPH:DOX.
In this episode of Kitchen Conversations, Elena Mikaberidze dives deeper into the extraordinary documentary, the lives of the family at its centre, and the broader climate in Georgia today, with a special focus on mixed families navigating the challenges of living a united life in a politically divided country.
Listen to the podcast here:
Want to help the protagonists of the film to keep their blueberry farm? https://www.share-doc.org/d/71001
Kitchen Conversations is a platform for conversations with artists, curators, and researchers about their visual and socially engaged work, all connected to the vibrant and diverse region known as “Eastern Europe”, with all its complexities, histories, cultures, traumas, and their inevitable contemporary consequences. The podcast is hosted by a Polish artist and writer, Patrycja Rozwora.
