Levan, a resident of the Georgian capital in his late 40s, is taking a routine medical examination. Afterwards, something strange happens to him: the medication makes his thoughts overflow into the unknown – even question the principles of his own existence. Nino Kirtadze, who is one of Georgia’s internationally most renowned female filmmakers, turns Levan’s “medical history” into a cinema of strong emotions, a black hypochondriac comedy of metaphorical power, not least by borrowing the directorial strategies of feature films. This gives “Don’t Breathe” a slightly separate position among her numerous documentary films – perhaps as a new milestone in an artist’s quest.

Zaza Rusadze