ამბავი
Portrait
Our main character is a 46-year-old man, who shares a long, communal room in Bediani Psychiatric Hospital with 40 other patients. In his dark room, which is permeated with the smell of tobacco, there’s a yellowish folder where he keeps poems by Chinese poet Dù Fǔ's and a few blank sheets for drawing.
He has a distinct fear of drawing or, precisely, painting a portrait. He strongly believes that if he ever paints a self-portrait, however, everything will get better. He is now preparing for it, practicing strokes and trying his best to overcome the fear.
Reports about the closure of the Bediani Psychiatric Hospital has alarmed the residents of the village of Bediani and the hospital. The hospital is a major employer in the village and locals fear losing their miserably small salaries.
Despite reforms and efforts to end Soviet-style institutionalize of the disabled and mentally ill, we still largely ignore the voices of people who have been living behind the large and massive walls of Bediani Psychiatric Hospital for years.
We decided to find out what it's like to lose an adopted "home" and how residents at the hospital are reacting to this change. These questions led to our main character* and his very personal fear.
Information about the fate of the hospital changed constantly while we were working on the film. At first, they said that a drug-rehabilitation center would replace the clinic. But after the October 18 demonstrations against the plan, the state decided to restore Bediani Psychiatric Hospital instead of closing it. Most patients will be transferred to other psychiatric facilities in the country while the renovation works are underway. Some will stay at Bediani during the renovation, however.