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Become a memberElene Mikaberidze’s first full-length documentary is a warm, funny, yet bittersweet slice of life.
In April 2021, Soso Meladze, a retired engineer living 12 kilometres from Abkhazia, decided to take his family on a ‘farming adventure’ through the Georgian government’s Plant the Future programme.
Created in 2016, the programme offers to co-finance agricultural projects in an effort to use uncultivated land effectively, create new jobs in rural areas, and improve socio-economic conditions for Georgian citizens.
In western Georgia, where Soso is based, Bank of Georgia billboards advertising the programme and possible loans were, for a time, visible on every street corner, appearing to offer a path to a better future — but the reality, as Soso learns, is not so encouraging.
In her first feature-length documentary, director Elene Mikaberidze follows Soso and his family — wife Nino and sons Giorgi and Lazare — on their agricultural journey, from clearing the plot of land they’ve purchased to harvesting their first blueberry crop a year-and-a-half later, carefully and thoughtfully capturing the family’s dreams and struggles over the entire period.
From the start of the film, it is clear how loving the family is, and how open. Giorgi and Lazare are given the freedom to be whoever they want, no matter if that is a long-haired artist or an engineer. For Soso and Nino, the blueberry plantation begins as a way to create a way for their children to have whatever future they envision for themselves.
There are still worries from the start, however, mostly due to the plantation’s proximity to Abkhazia.
‘Growing fruit is hard work’, Soso says at one point. ‘It takes a lot of risks because a Russian soldier can be standing there, and all of a sudden he’ll move two kilometres forward. And no one knows where it will end up. But the farmers carry on working’.
No matter what, Soso makes it clear that he won’t ever give up his land out of fear.
This thread of potential conflict runs throughout the film, harkening back to the 2008 August War.
Early on in the film, Nino reveals that Giorgi was born just before the August 2008 War. Though she had a c-section scheduled in the nearby town of Senaki, she was told not to come to the hospital because bombs were falling.
‘Everywhere on TV we saw images of cities on fire, wooden houses burning. I still can’t get it out of my head. I could hear noises at night as if tanks were coming. I was scared and it took me a while to stop hearing the noises’, Nino says, her soft voice recalling the events as on screen, sparks from a fire light up the evening sky in a poetic juxtaposition.
Later, when Russia begins its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, old fears reemerge, as well as a desire within the whole family to do everything they can to support Ukraine.
‘The people in this region were so scared war would start again’, director Elene Mikaberidze told OC Media, noting that ‘everyone was touched by the war’.
While the first half of the film focuses on hope for the future, the second half takes a more somber tone as Soso realises the true cost of his endeavour.
‘I’m walking on a tightrope and nobody knows if it’s going to break. Either I lose everything or I get somewhere’, Soso says towards the end of the film.
From starting out full of hope that he would give his children all the opportunities they could ever want, by the end it appears as if the family has become trapped, forever tied to the blueberry plantation.
The cinematography by Patrick Wendt is magnificent, capturing all the emotions involved for the viewer to feel as if they are in the room with the Meladze family. In turn, Mikaberidze handles every aspect of documenting the family with compassion and grace, showcasing her directorial skills. It is well worth keeping an eye on her future work to see how her filmmaking grows.
Blueberry Dreams will be screening in-person at Germany’s GoEast Film Festival 26 and 27 April and on 1 May, after which the film will be distributed in the UK on Klassiki.
Following the film’s premiere, Mikaberidze and production company Parachute Films organised a fundraiser on the ShareDoc platform to support the Meladze family. Find more details here.
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