TBILISI: Young Georgian director Natia Nikolashvili is expected to finish production on Igi at the end of 2026. Aimed for adults and young adults, IGI is produced by Vladimer Katcharava’s 20 Steps Productions.
The story follows a young hunter in a prehistoric tribe, when people are still bent-over. As an accident forces Igi to stand up straight, he discovers new possibilities and a whole new life, each new development and challenge pointing him into a new direction.
“The small story Igi by Jemal Karchkhadze found its success and love in audiences straight away; it was published still in Soviet Georgia, in 1977. It tackled deep, philosophical issues: human against society, being different and finding one’s true identity with a primitive and simple language. After so many years Igi never lost its readers, now they teach it in high school and it remains the most loved story by teenagers. I was much older when I read the story and it struck me with the cinematic storyline, the main hero’s metamorphosis and such a brilliant visualisation of the complex inner struggle we all go through at some point in our life”, Natia Nikolashvili said in a statement.
This is the first script for a long film written by Natia Nikolashvili, “a visionary and highly talented young director, supported by a very strong team in Georgia”, according to producer Vladimer Katcharava. Natia Nikolashvili is also the production designer of the film, while the art department is led by Ana Markozashvili. The team also includes Animatory CEO and co-founder (along with Nikolashvili) Sandro Katamashvili, who is the executive producer of IGI.
“In our case, we are pioneers in Georgia on this scale. We are not only developing and directing the film here, or creating the script, concept, and visual design. We are building and carrying out almost the entire animation production process in Georgia, with Georgian artists. This is both the greatest challenge and one of the strongest reasons for making the film. We are not only producing one feature animation; we are also building professional experience, production capacity, and a new generation of animation talent in Georgia”, producer Vladimer Katcharava told FNE.
Animatory was founded in 2018 and is now among the leading animation studios in Georgia. In tandem with its artistic achievements, IGI has driven meaningful progress within the animation community. Through the Animatory platform, core creators have translated their expertise into structured education, with Natia Nikolashvili teaching animation directing, Ana Markozashvili mentoring in art direction, and Sandro Katamashvili introducing storyboard training.
An elegant standout at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the 2D animated project debuted its inaugural teaser, drawing praise for its aesthetic and refined execution.
“We are visually tilting away from the mainstream style and trying something new. White, minimalistic backgrounds unconsciously bring the sense of a prehistoric, primitive world, when the world was not vast, but rather narrow, only the part one could see in front of you mattered. Whiteness, an empty sheet of paper, as if the story of mankind is just going to be written. The whole artistic direction is influenced by artists such as Egon Schile, Gao Xingjian, Chinese paintings and one line portraits. Even though the visuals are freely expressed in painted medium, it will be integrated into the real life anamorphic lens view, as it was shot with a real camera, which will bring the sense of depth, organic and sensible film visual rather than cartoon”, Natia Nikolashvili also said.
The budget is 1.6 m EUR. “Regarding the financing, several discussions are currently ongoing, and at this stage, the confirmed financing comes from the Georgian National Film Center and 20 Steps Productions. We are also in discussions with sales agents and several potential production and financing partners. Over the years, we have tried to develop coproduction partnerships with several countries. Unfortunately, in a number of cases, our potential partners were not able to secure support from their national funds, which ultimately made the cooperation impossible”, Vladimer Katcharava added.
The project was showcased at several leading workshops including the CEE Animation Workshop in 2020 and Annecy’s MIFA feature pitches in 2022 and 2026, and Cartoon Movie, among others.
The production started in 2024 and it is set to wrap at the end of 2026. The film is expected to start its festival circuit in the spring of 2027.
The team is actively looking for postproduction partners, international sales partners, and a composer. “I strongly believe that the new generation of Georgian animation artists needed a real opportunity to demonstrate to the international industry that a high-end animated feature could be produced in Georgia”, Vladimer Katcharava concludes.
Production Information:
Producer:
20 Steps Productions (Georgia)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Credits:
Director: Natia Nikolashvili
Scriptwriter: Natia Nikolashvili
Production designer: Natia Nikolashvili
Art department: Ana Markozashvili
Project manager: Anni Gejadze
Head of animation: Giorgi Gabisonia
Head of clean up color: Manuchar Tumanishvili
Animators: Ripsime Voskanyan, Mariam Tofuridze, Avto Gvaramia, Tata Managadze, Giorgi Kontridze, among others
