"The Season of Wild Plums" by Tamar Maare
"Best Short Documentary"
In a small Georgian village, summer is the season of wild plums - tkemali. It’s also when grandmothers host their children and grandchildren, who visit from the capital city and abroad. My grandmother Ketevan, blessed (or perhaps burdened) with only daughters and granddaughters, spends the summer perfecting her tkemali sauce while her well-meaning but city-spoiled granddaughters try to help - or at least not get in the way…
Between simmering pots and village gossip, and with Russia’s war against Ukraine casting a shadow of unease over Georgia, the film follows Ketevan and her neighbors, all elderly women living on their own, as they pick, cook, and bottle the green and red plums with their grandchildren.
The film explores generational gaps and the fading culture of Georgian village life, as the younger generation leaves in search of better opportunities, while those who remain hold onto traditions that feel more precious - and more vulnerable - than ever.