Magic Mountain

Abastumani used to be a luxurious hospital in the Georgian mountains, but turned into more of a social facility without clear rules over time. Director Mariam Chachia decided to explore this world herself, as she contracted tuberculosis and it seemed she would become one of the patients. In the end, she only went there as a filmmaker, and through her poetic voice-over and observation of the daily lives of patients and staff, she creates a nostalgic memory of a specific place that no longer exists. We witness the gradual emptying of the building before demolition, the emotions that this loss evokes. All of this is presented in a visually engaging formal approach, contrasting the still apparent grandeur of the building with the dark fates of the people who inhabit it. Magic Mountain explores how the genius loci of a certain place creates, in a unique connection, its past, present, and future, and above all, the people and their stories that give life and uniqueness to that place.