Corn Island (film)

Spring flooding forms a small island with rich soil in the middle of the Enguri River, new land without an owner. An old man, assisted by his orphaned teenage granddaughter, takes possession of the island, builds a simple hut, and plants corn. They are ethnic Abkhaz and exchange nods with passing Georgian soldiers. The old man shelters a wounded soldier who takes refuge on the island and protects him from his pursuers for a time. At the end of the summer, flooding destroys the island.

• İlyas Salman as Old Man
• Mariam Buturishvili as Girl

The film was shot throughout 70 days in April-May 2013 and September-November 2013.[1]

Mariam Buturishvili said the biggest difficulty for her during filming was the scene where she takes a dip in the river naked. "During the shooting of the last shots, in the beginning of November, I had to dive into the water. It was very cold. I was freezing, I knew," she said.[2]

The film was first released at the 49th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in July 2014,[3] where it won the Crystal Globe,[4] as well as the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury.

It was also selected as the Georgian entry for consideration for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards,[5] making the January Shortlist.[6]

• List of submissions to the 87th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Georgian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

• Corn Island at IMDb
• Simindis Kundzuli at AllMovie
• Simindis Kundzuli at Rotten Tomatoes