MESTIA: The winners of the Mountain-Themed Film Competition and the Short Film Competition were announced at the 6th Mestia International Short and Mountain Film Festival, where Phurba Tshering Lama’s Jaar won the Best Mountain Film Award, while Jon Glassberg’s Girl Climber received the festival’s Grand Prix. In the Short Film Competition, Georgian animated short Oh! Mother, Mother... by Khatuna Tatuashvili won the Best Film Award.
The 6th edition of the Mestia International Short and Mountain Film Festival took place in Mestia, Georgia, from 29 July to 2 August 2026. Founded by the Mestia Centre of Culture and Arts NNLE, and filmmaker and producer Khatuna Khundadze, the festival has established itself as Georgia’s only festival dedicated to mountain-themed cinema while also serving as an important platform for international and Georgian short films.
This year’s edition marked a milestone for the festival as animated films were accepted into the competition for the first time. Seven mountain-themed feature films competed in the Mountain Film Competition, while 14 films were selected for the Short Film Competition, including Georgian animated short Oh! Mother, Mother… by Khatuna Tatuashvili.
Alongside its competition programme, the festival hosted a series of presentations and industry masterclasses. These included the presentation of the book 4 Stamps – 4 Lives on Georgian alpinism by Khatuna Khundadze and Ivane Japaridze, the presentation of the MESMA Foundation, a masterclass on international coproduction, press and public relations in the film industry by French producer Guillaume de Seille and film industry PR manager Dany de Seille, and a masterclass by producer Olena Yershova, who discussed the journey from a one-page synopsis to winning the FIPRESCI Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The international jury was chaired by Siddiq Barmak and included Elif Dağdeviren, Kim Hyung-Koo, Guillaume de Seille and Mariam Kandelaki.
The festival was organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Georgian National Film Center, the Mestia Municipality, the Georgian National Tourism Administration, Creative Georgia, the Georgian Public Broadcaster, Mesma, Svaneti Hydro, Giorgi Naveriani’s Charity Fund, Radio Fortuna, Svaneti News, ARTv, Georgian Film, Beer Alkhanaidze, CaveaPlus, and the International Alliance for Mountain Film.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Mountain-Themed Film Competition:
Best Mountain Film:
Jaar (India)
Directed by Phurba Tshering Lama
Grand Prix:
Girl Climber (Austria, USA)
Directed by Jon Glassberg
Short Film Competition:
Best Film:
Oh! Mother, Mother… (Georgia)
Directed by Khatuna Tatuashvili
Jury Special Mentions:
The Silent Applause (India)
Directed by Abhimanyu Kanodia
Archaic (France)
Directed by Mathiew LeLay
