Gveleshapi, the water dragon
Bacho and Tsotne discover the heart of their village, Balda Canyon, now belongs to a private company. Development plans bring concrete constructions and tourist attractions and prevent villagers from accessing the water.
What happens when the sacred is sold?
There is a jewel in the heart of the village Balda: a beautiful canyon that has been sheltering villagers from the heat, hosting sacred rituals and providing a place for fun and relaxation.
For Bacho, this is a place of power. But he discovers that the canyon that once hosted his and his brother Tsotne’s childhood games and fantasies has been leased to a private company for a development project. There's cement construction underway, and someone seems to be claiming ownership of the river that villagers believe belongs to everybody.
The locals organize themselves to fight back against this enemy, which acts like the water dragon of fairy tales, cutting people off from the water.
The film was prepared with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) South Caucasus Regional Office. All opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of FES.