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Zaza Urushadze

A native of Georgia, in the former USSR, writer-director Zaza Urushadze launched his filmmaking career in the late 1990s. By scripting and helming distinct features that he filtered through the lens of Georgian culture and society, Urushadze followed in the tradition of such fellow countrymen as Tengiz Abuladze and Irakli Kvirikadze, and he received acclaim comparable to that of these predecessors. Born in January 1966, Urushadze attended the Georgian State University of Theatre and Film, and graduated in 1988. He shot his debut feature, the drama "Here Comes the Dawn" in 1998; it gleaned some festival acclaim, but received extremely limited distribution and unfortunately never found a berth in U.S. theaters or ancillary. Though it didn't arrive until nearly a decade later, Urushadze's sophomore feature, "Two Owls" (2007), received greater attention; a dramatic triptych, it weaves together a trio of stories, set in three different centuries and each centered around an enigmatic, haunting painting. Following a third feature, 2012's "Bolo Gaseirneba," Urushadze finally broke through to the recognition long overdue him with his fourth effort. A comedy-drama entitled "Tangerines" (2013), it takes place in 1992, in the Eastern European country of Abkhazia just after the Soviet Union's collapse. The story concerns a rural man fleeing from the front lines of a battle, who provides shelter to wounded soldiers from opposing sides of the conflict. North American critics heavily praised "Tangerines" for the delicacy of its pacifistic sentiments, and it went on to pick up nominations for Best Foreign Film at the 2014 Golden Globes and the 2014 Academy Awards. In the process, Urushadze's stature and visibility grew considerably.