Gela Kandelaki was born in 1940, May 27, in the city of Tbilisi. His father was a famous documentarist Irakli Kandelaki. At the age of 17 Gela started his relationship with “Georgian Film”. In 1962, he finished “Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film Georgia State University”. In 1966, Gela finished his studies at “Moscow State University”, faculty of cinema directing. He is a director, actor and dramaturge.
Besides professional activities, Gela Kandelaki is very actively involved in a pedagogic life in Georgia as well as abroad of his country. He was a teacher at the “Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film Georgia State University” and at the “Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University”. In 2009, Gela conducted a lecture in a Cinema Academy of Berlin. In 2010, he was invited as a jury for International Workshop for European Film Students (Summer MEDIA Studio 2010).
With the guidance of Gela Kandelaki, in 2012, Lithuanian theatre created performance – “Boy and Seagulls” which was a synthesis of Dramatic and Shadow theatre. In 2015-2016, group of Lithuanian students came to Georgia, to study the art of hand shadow theatre, acting, dramaturgy and directing. Gela Kandelaki was a leading teacher of Lithuanian group. After successfully finishing studies, Georgian hand shadow theatre and Lithuanian theater started a strong partnership and Hand Shadow Theater Budrugana Lithuania was founded.
Since 2006, Gela has been in partnership with festival “Tbilisi Contemporary Music Evenings”. Together, they created multimedia performances.
Since 2009, Gela has been in partnership with choreograph Mariam Aleksidze. Gela is a co-director of multiple choreography performances.
In 2013, he directed Faraj Garayev’s mono-opera – “Traveling in to Love”.
Since 2011, with Metropolitan Isaia of Tskhinvali and Nikozi, Gela is a co-organizer of International Animation Film Festival “Nikozi”. He also teaches animation and shadow theatre in a local school of Nikzoi village (After the name of St. Alexandre Okropiridze).
Gela is a founder of film studios: “Kvali”, “Kvali XXI”, “Georgian Film – Abkhazeti”, hand shadow theatre “Budrugana” and “Budrugana – Gagra”.
Filmography (Director)
“Today” 1965, 10min. “Summer Has Passed” 1965, 10min. “Long Croon” 1966, 18min. “Museum of Georgia” 1968, 30min. “Football without Ball” (With Leri Sikharulidze) 1969, 20min. “Exhibition of Children’s Drawings” 1972, 20min. “Imereti” 1979, 20min. “Nokalakevi” (With Tengiz Modebadze) 1980, 30min. “Calamity” 1980, 75min. “Vardzia” 1983, 30min. “0.047% Of The Land” 2008, 120min.
Film-Performances: “Old Vaudevilles”, “Stepmother of Samanishvili”, “Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird” Director: Otar Ioseliani, Gela Kandelaki – Main Actor.
Art Director and Producer
Animation Films:
“Raven”, “Plague”, “Babilina”, “Family”, “Wait”, “Portrait”, “Ephemeris”, “Bati Tasiko”, “Prisoner”, “Hunter”, “Confession of Wolf”, “Last Letter of Van Gogh”, “Tiger and Knight”.
Narrative Documentary Film: “Iakob Gogebashvili”.
Featured Documentaries: “Svaneti”, “Last Travel of Lady Mariam Bagrationi”.
Co-Production
Hungarian-Georgian Films: “Unknown Episodes from the Life of Pirosmani”, “Silly Tree of a Pomegrante”.