Alexander Koberidze’s Dry Leaf headed the winners at Georgia’s third annual Eliso film awards, which saw an even spread of awards with no film taking more than one main prize.
Experimental road movie Dry Leaf took the best film award. Following a father searching across rural Georgia for his missing daughter, Koberidze’s feature had its world premiere at Locarno Film Festival in 2025, going on to play Toronto, New York, Busan and London. The film was shot on Koberidze’s 18-year-old Sony Ericsson W595 phone, which has a low 144-pixel resolution.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel won the best director prize for The Kartli Kingdom, their documentary about a sanatorium in Georgian capital Tbilisi which became a refuge for people fleeing the 1992 Abkhazia war.
Further awards included a best acting prize, given to Nini Iashvili for City Noise, and best cinematography, to Shalva Sokurashvili for The Pipe.
The winners were chosen by a four-person jury consisting of German filmmaker Angela Schanelec, Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska, Georgian film theorist Theo Khatiashvili, and Georgian cinematographer Giorgi Shvelidze.
The awards took place at the Nato Vachnadze house museum, organised by the Nato Vachnadze Foundation, an organisation that celebrates Georgia’s film output.
It is named after Georgian film icon Vachnadze, and founded by her great-granddaughter, actress Natalia Jugheli. The awards are funded by backers including TBC, Coca-Cola, Rooms Hotels, Sarajishvili, Bluetabla, Enkeny Films, Zoommer, the Danish Cultural Institute, Georgian Bus, Andersen, Vazisubani Estate and At.ge.
Eliso film awards 2026
Winners in bold
Best film
Dry Leaf
The Kartli Kingdom
The Pipe
Nobody In Sight
Temore
Best director
Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel, The Kartli Kingdom
Ketevan Vashagashvili, 9 Month Contract – special mention
Alexander Koberidze, Dry Leaf
Kote Kalandadze, Nobody In Sight
Best cinematography
Shalva Sokurashvili, The Pipe
Alexander Koberidze, Dry Leaf
Tamara Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel, The Kartli Kingdom
Shalva Sokurashvili, City Noise
Best film editing
Anka Gujabidze, Levan Butkhuzi, Temore
Alexander Koberidze, Dry Leaf
Kote Kalandadze, Nobody In Sight
Veronica Scotti, 9 Month Contract
Best original music
Kote Kalandadze, Nobody In Sight
Giorgi Koberidze, Dry Leaf
Nika Pasuri, The Kartli Kingdom
Lasha Tskvitinidze, The Pipe
Best acting
Nini Iashvili, City Noise
Tato Okriashvili, Saba Tsiklauri, Rati Abramishvili, The Pipe – special mention
Lasha Gomelauri, City Noise
Taki Mumladze, Nothing Returns
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