Levan Koguashvili Talks BRIGHTON 4th on SOUNDS OF FILM

Levan Koguashvili’s tender family tragicomedy, BRIGHTON 4TH, is Georgia’s official submission to the 94th Academy Awards®. Shot by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Nebraska, The Trial of the Chicago 7) and set within the Georgian emigré community of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, the film received its world premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Festival where it won three major awards in international competition — Best Film, Best Actor and Best Screenplay — and also recently won the award for Best Film at the inaugural edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival. BRIGHTON 4TH will open in New York on Friday, January 28 (Village East Cinema) and in Los Angeles on Friday, February 11 (Laemmle Royal).

In this portrait of parental sacrifice and the love of a father for his son, former wrestler Kakhi (played by real-life Olympic champion Levan Tediashvili) embarks on a journey from his home in Tbilisi to visit his son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze) in the Russian-speaking neighborhood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. There he finds Soso living in a shabby boarding house populated by a colorful group of fellow Georgian immigrants (like most in the cast, played by non-actors). Soso is not studying medicine, as Kakhi believed, but is working for a moving company and has accrued a $14,000 gambling debt to a local Russian mob boss. Kakhi sets his mind to helping his hapless son out of his debt, leading to situations as often absurd as they are dire.

Levan Koguashvili graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of Art's Graduate Film Program in 2006. His debut feature, Street Days, premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and his next film, Blind Dates, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Brighton 4th is his third feature film.

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