How absurd can political populism get? Georgia knows a thing or two about it. Promises made by political parties to their potential voter base may not only involve material gifts and unattainable pre-election statements. They can also concern your dental health.
Watch the documentary film Smiling Georgia online for free. It is available at kinedok.net from 6 to 11 March. Just email us at [email protected] for a voucher. The film is available in all KineDok countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia and Hungary).
SMILING GEORGIA (Luka Beradze, 2023, Georgia, Germany, 62 min)
Mikheil Saakashvili, made an absurd promise to the predominantly poorest segments of the Georgian population – in exchange for votes in his favor, he promised a brand-new set of teeth. How could such an exchange between the political spectrum and the general population have turned out? Saakashvili lost the elections, and the people who had their bad teeth removed with the prospect of beautiful new ones were left with nothing but toothless smiles. Director of the film "Smiling Georgia," Luka Beradze, transports the audience to the year 2020 with this context, to a village aptly named Nameless. This village was part of the pre-election program in 2012, so most of the population is toothless. With gentle and kind humor, we observe how politics has influenced and continues to influence the everyday lives of the most ordinary Georgians. The political dimension of daily life is reinforced by the upcoming elections that took place in the fall of 2020. While for most days these people couldn't care less about the political elites, once the struggle for voter base approaches, politicians come with their promises and bizarre plans. But why should these people, who have been disappointed so many times before, believe them?
