Feature | Israel | 2025 | Director: Eti Tsicko | Georgian and Hebrew with English subtitles | 93 minutes | Friday May 15, 5:30 p.m.
Nandauri is a unique film made in 2025 about traditional Georgian culture, which is both repressive and sexist, with teenage girls being married off in arranged marriages. The film is told through the story of a strong character Marina who managed to escape her stifling rural village where she was raised in Georgia to immigrate to Israel and become a lawyer in Tel-Aviv. . But circumstances find her coming back into the culture she has tried to leave behind altogether. Nandauri is named for a Georgian word that means “The one I long for,”
Neta Riskin, who played Giti in Shtisel, is a great actress in this film. Although she is not Georgian herself, she learned the language to play the role of Marina. Marina left rural Georgia and reluctantly returns to her village as an adult to help a client, a woman named Nino. Nino also immigrated to Israel, leaving behind her son in Georgia who was raised by Nino’s brother Dato. Nino, who remarried in Israel, now wants her 11 year old Georgian son back, but Dato does not want to part with the child he raised and loves. Parts of this film are psychologically complex including the relationship between Marina and Dato , who tries to hit on Marina immediately.
The film is by Eti Tsicko, who is from a Georgian family and who drew on her background to make the movie. The film’s two lead characters, Marina and Dato give compelling performances. Riskin’s Marina is determined and the film explores her anger at a the sexist society of rural Georgia where women are wives only. Riskin won the Ophir Award (Israel’s Oscar) for Best Actress for her performance, and the film also won Best Director and , Best Debut Feature. Dato has a great presence and is a sympathetic character as he has devoted his life to raising his sister’s child rather than starting a family of his own.
The film’s cinematography by Shai Goldman, one of Israel’s finest directors of photography, adds to the viewing experience and it’s not surprising that the film won an Ophir award for Best Photography. Marina wears a bold red coat that is striking against the bleak background. The film was chosen as Best Picture at the UK Jewish Film Festival. At times, the pace is slower but the chemistry between the two leads makes the film grow on you more and more as it continues.
