More than 100 people visit opening of "Kunaki" film festival in Abkhazia

The 11^th North-Caucasian Open Film and TV Festival "Kunaki" was opened with the screening of the silent film "Abrek Zaur", released in 1926. The show is dated to the 100^th anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The "Kunaki" Film Festival was founded on the International Media Forum "All Russia" in 2007. Since 2016, it bears the name of the North-Caucasian Open Film and TV Festival "Kunaki". The name stems from the ancient Caucasian notion of "kunaks" – the tradition of hospitality and friendship among people of various nationalities and religions.

"At the opening of the film festival, we usually show films shot about the Caucasus and for the Caucasus during the Soviet era ... And since the film festival is dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the October Revolution, the film 'Abrek Zaur' is very appropriate to be shown to describe how the Caucasus was perceived in that time," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Sulieta Kusova-Chukho, the president of the film festival.

According to her, she watched the film "Abrek Zaur" a year ago.

"To my shame, I did not watch that film until last year. My sons showed me fragments of the picture in their mobile phones. There is a final scene where before his execution through hanging the hero asked to allow him to dance the lezginka. Almost all Caucasian guys have that fragment in their mobile phones," Sulieta Kusova-Chukho says.

In 1926, the silent film "Abrek Zaur" was filmed by director Boris Mikhin under the scenario written by I. Bay-Abai. The film describes the struggle of mountain people led by Zaur-Bek against the tsarist authorities in the middle of the 19^th century.

The opening of the film festival was attended by more than 100 spectators, including top-ranking officials, festival participants, jury members, and residents of the capital.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.