Eti Tsicko
As If You Were Never Here
An Israeli lawyer of Georgian origins travels to Georgia representing a legal battle for a woman she barely knows.
DIRECTOR
Eti Tsicko
PRODUCERS
Ayelet Kait
Amir Harel
CO-PRODUCERS
Flavia Oertwig
Vladimer Katcharava
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Lama Films
Intrigó Internazionale
20 Steps
COUNTRIES
Israel
Italy
Georgia
GENRE
Fiction
Eti Tsicko
ETI TSICKO was born in 1982 to Georgian immigrants. She graduated with honours from Tel Aviv University. Her graduation short DOG LEASH (2012) was selected for the Cinéfondation Cannes Film Festival. Her first feature, AS IF YOU WERE NEVER HERE, was chosen for the Berlin 24/7 writing residency, Jerusalem Pitch Point, won the Ronit Elkabetz No Fear production grant and the FocusFox post-production Award in Sofia-Bulgaria. The Israeli-Georgian-Italian co-production was shot in Georgia-Israel and is now in post-production.
How can one change their own story? We all tell ourselves stories about who we are, where we came from, and why things happen to us the way they do. Female protagonist MARINA in AS IF YOU WERE NEVER HERE will embark on a journey of self-discovery, resurrected in the remote Georgian landscapes. As she dares to direct a sober and loving gaze at the world and identity she left behind, Marina will have to decide how to tell her own story from now on.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Ayelet Kait
Before arriving in Lama Films, AYELET KAIT worked as a line-producer and as executive producer in a long list of films, both in Israeli TV networks and the local film industry. She joined Lama films in 2005 as a partner. Since then, produced over then 40 films – both fiction and documentary. She teaches creative cinema in the Sam Spiegel Film School and does Lecture for the Israeli film funds.
Production company profile
LAMA FILMS concentrates on projects with a political-social-cultural orientation. Whether fiction or documentaries, the company’s projects address phenomena that reflect the essence of Israeli existence yet still appeal to diverse audiences worldwide. Among company’s projects are: Golden Globe winner for Best International Film and Oscar nominee PARADISE NOW (2005); Venice film festival official selection VALERIA IS GETTING MARRIED (2022) and TEL-AVIV ON FIRE (2018); US box office hit, and Berlinale films WALK ON WATER (2004) and YOSSI & JAGGER (2002); Cannes Film Festival, Camera d’Or Winner JELLYFISH (2007) and JAMES' JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM (2003).
Where are we at?
TOTAL ESTIMATED BUDGET
700.000 €
NEEDED FOR COMPLETION
150.000 €
TERRITORIES UNAVAILABLE
Israel
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