Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning

Review | Shapshe — thoughtful, energetic, and fun Circassian folk music Chapsh’s debut album has everything: it’s moody, energetic, and authentic, deriving inspiration from ancient healing rituals.

🎶 OC REVIEWS: Chapsh’s debut album has everything: it’s moody, energetic, and authentic, deriving inspiration from ancient Circassian healing rituals.

oc-media.org/review-shaps...

Review | Exploring three recent Georgian shorts from across genres at WineCast 2025 From a local take on an acid Western to a revenge film shot entirely through a car windshield, these shorts show how varied Georgia’s cinema is.

🎬Three short films from 2024 were recently screened at WineCast in Mukhrani, Georgia.

From a local take on an acid Western to a revenge film shot entirely through a car windshield, they show how varied Georgia’s cinema is.

oc-media.org/review-explo...

Review | Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story — a satirical Georgian masterpiece Eldar Shengelaia’s 1983 film, one of the sharpest satirical critiques of Soviet bureaucracy in existence, is a cinematic masterpiece

And lastly, Eldar Shengelaia’s 1983 film Blue Mountains, one of the sharpest satirical critiques of Soviet bureaucracy in existence and a cinematic masterpiece:

oc-media.org/review-blue-...

For our third review, Shengelaia’s most absurdist and outright comedic film, operating as a goofy Georgian ode to freedom:

oc-media.org/review-the-e...

Review | An Unusual Exhibition — a tragi-comedy on artistic individuality in Georgia Eldar Shengelaia’s 1968 film is a layered parable on artistic individualism in the collectivist Soviet Union.

Up next is Shengelaia’s 1968 film, a layered parable on artistic individualism in the collectivist Soviet Union and the inspiration for one of Kutaisi’s most famous statues:

oc-media.org/review-an-un...

For our third review, Shengelaia’s most absurdist and outright comedic film, operating as a goofy Georgian ode to freedom:

oc-media.org/review-the-e...

Review | People and Trees: A Trilogy — exploring boyhood in rural Soviet Azerbaijan A collection of three novellas, People and Trees encapsulates the experiences of a boy growing up in post-World War II Azerbaijan.

Grateful to @ocmedia.bsky.social for publishing @xkuenning.bsky.social's thoughtful, perceptive review of #AkramAylisli's "People and Trees." Translating this marvelous book was a labor of love--so glad to see it getting some well-deserved attention! oc-media.org/review-peopl...

Review | The White Caravan — Georgian pastoralism clashes with modernity Eldar Shengelaia’s 1963 film is a visually alluring and emotional exploration of the age-old conflict between tradition and modernity.

To mark Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia's recent passing, @ocmedia.bsky.social is reviewing some of his most famous films, all of which are available with English subtitles. To start, his 1963 exploration of the age-old conflict between tradition and modernity:

oc-media.org/review-the-w...

OC Media team ranks South Caucasus Eurovision 2025 songs Ahead of Eurovision 2025, we asked our staff to give their opinions and predictions of all three South Caucasus entries.

I had a lot of fun collecting opinions from my colleagues @ocmedia.bsky.social on Eurovision 2025 and the three South Caucasus entries. Have a read here:

oc-media.org/oc-media-tea...

Review | Blueberry Dreams — A contemplative look at the dreams and struggles of a Georgian family Elene Mikaberidze’s first full-length documentary is a warm, funny, yet bittersweet slice of life.

Elene Mikaberidze’s first full-length documentary is a warm, funny, yet bittersweet slice of life — my latest review for @ocmedia.bsky.social

Check out this heartfelt Georgian film on @klassiki.bsky.social as part of the ongoing goEast Film Festival!

oc-media.org/review-blueb...

The third @ocmedia.bsky.social Culture Dispatch will be out tomorrow, focusing on regional Easter traditions, a hauntingly beautiful film on the Armenian Genocide, and celebratory synths. Sign up below!

oc-media.org/pages/oc-cul...

Protesters met outside parliament in Tbilisi to mark 9 April 1989, when Soviet troops killed 21 and injured hundreds. Families of protesters recently detained spent the night there, after which minor clashes broke out between demonstrators and ruling party supporters.

Georgian Dream initiates new legislation to regulate the issuing of grants by foreign donors Georgian Dream and its satellites have long criticised foreign donors for supporting civil society and media.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has begun to consider an amendment to the Law on Grants, which would include a new article regulating the procedure for issuing grants by foreign donors.

oc-media.org/georgian-dre...

Review | The Palace of Forty Pillars — an impressive poetic debut from the Armenian–Iranian Diaspora Armen Davoudian’s debut — taking the reader through Armenian, Iranian, and American history — is a beautiful personal narrative on change and loss.

📚 OC Review: Armen Davoudian’s debut poetry collection, The Palace of Forty Pillars, is a powerful narrative of queerness, exile, and memory — spanning Armenian, Iranian, and American history.

oc-media.org/review-the-p...

Review | 1978 — The Struggle for the Status of the Georgian Language: Oral Histories While an interesting collection of oral histories, this compilation struggles to do too much at once, becoming disjointed in the process.

📚 OC Reviews: 1978 — The Struggle for the Status of the Georgian Language: Oral Histories

oc-media.org/review-1978-...

Georgian Dream vows to amend law to ban new and future opposition parties Banning the political opposition was one of the ruling party’s pre-election promises for 2024.

Georgian Dream has proposed legislative changes that would allow the banning of political parties if they are deemed similar to previously banned parties. The ruling party initiated these changes amid its threats to ban the currently existing opposition groups.

oc-media.org/georgian-dre...

Erdoğan steals video of Georgian protests to accuse Turkish opposition of ‘vandalism’. The video includes footage where the parliament building in Tbilisi is clearly visible.

Read more: oc-media.org/erdogan-pres...

Review | Street Life — the cold drone of Georgia’s long winter protest Natalie Beridze’s Street Life turns Georgia’s protests into an oppressive soundscape, capturing both the exhaustion and resolve of a movement.

🎵 OC reviews: Natalie Beridze’s 'Street Life’ turns Georgia’s protests into an oppressive soundscape, capturing both the exhaustion and resolve of a movement. Built from real protest sounds, it’s a haunting, Lynchian memoir of resistance.

oc-media.org/review-stree...

The Armenian Parliament adopts a bill seeking EU accession The bill was backed by the Armenian government in January.

On Wednesday, the Armenian Parliament adopted a bill that calls on the government to seek EU integration in its second and final hearing. The bill was passed with 64 votes in favour and 7 against. This is how Armenian MEP's reacted to its passage:

oc-media.org/the-armenian...

Review | Hard by a Great Forest — a compelling tale of a Georgian homecoming Leo Vardiashvili’s debut novel weaves a compelling tale of homecoming, guilt, and loss, all set against the surreal backdrop of a mass zoo escape.

Excited to announce that @ocmedia.bsky.social is launching a new review section, covering cinema, literature, and music throughout the Caucasus. Check out my first review — ‘Hard by a Great Forest’ by Leo Vardiashvili — below!

oc-media.org/review-hard-...

📢 Do you have a background in journalism or nonprofits? Are you interested in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, or the Caucasus? Lossi 36 is looking for board members to help grow our organisation.

🔗 Application and details can be found here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Editor's choice 2024: A round-up of recommendations from the team behind Lossi 36 - Lossi 36 The team behind Lossi 36 shares with you their favourite recommendations of books, podcasts, and movies covering all of Lossi's regions.

As the year comes to an end, the team behind Lossi 36 has come together to share their recommendations for books, albums, and movies on Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

🔗 Read the reviews here: lossi36.com/2024/12/30/e...

PM Irakli Kobakhidze has congratulated Mikheil Kavelashvili on being elected President of Georgia, noting that under his leadership 'the institution of the president will return to its constitutional mission and regain its dignity'.

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

Local residents of Zugdidi, in Georgia’s western region of Samegrelo, gathered outside the Governor’s Office followed by a march for a consecutive day of anti-government protests.

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

🎥 Odishi TV

Demonstrators in Batumi have made a Christmas tree decorated with photos of protesters and journalists visibly injured during recent rallies as well as a caricatured image of President-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

📷 Archil Kakhadze

A group of Georgians have held a protest outside the Georgian consulate in Frankfurt today, condemning the consulate staff’s silence on election irregularities.

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

📷 Tako Urushadze

Students have gathered in Kutaisi demanding new elections and the release of ‘regime prisoners’. The students plan to march through the city streets where they will join protesters gathered outside the local government building at 17:00.

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

According to Batumelebi, thousands of people are holding a protest rally in support of those detained during the demonstrations against the government’s EU U-turn.

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

Representatives from several religious minority groups have joined the ongoing protest in Tbilisi after marching to the Parliament building with a banner reading ‘Together for Real Peace’.

🔴 Live updates: oc-media.org/georgia-live...

Groups of masked attackers target journalists and government critics during Tbilisi protests Tonight’s protests in Tbilisi were characterised by violent attacks on protesters, government critics, and journalists.

A number of Georgian citizens attending the pro-EU demonstration on Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue, as well as journalists covering the protests, have been violently attacked by groups of unidentified, masked individuals.

oc-media.org/groups-of-ma...