Interview with Rati Tsiteladze
for the Film Little Things
Canada Premier at EBIFF 2015
Pooyan Tabatabaei
Rati Tsiteladze is the director of the short film Little Things where it tells a story about a marriage, that was once was a loving relationship, turned into something distant. The main character, Sophie, decides to take action on her marriage.
Born in Georgia in 1987, Rati Tsiteladze is a martial artist, actor and director. Despite an early interest in art he has followed his parents’ decision and began training in karate. At age 21, Rati won the titles of World and European Champion in martial arts.
Despite 17 years of successful fighting career in 2010 when filmmaking became the overpowering passion in his life, he left his career to pursue filmmaking. He moved to Los Angeles where he studied filmmaking, after which he has founded ArtWayFilm production.
Rati has directed several short films, that were awarded internationally and were screened in different film festivals around the world. Recently, he directed short film Deda (2015) alluding to his taste for long takes, a taste he structured and developed throughout his film studies.
Rati, Can you tell me what was the production process that went behind bringing your film to life?
We shot this film in 1 day with no budget and our crew consisted from only 4 people.
How did you get started in film?
After 17 years of fighting career, when I became The World Champion, I realized that it wasn’t my path and decided to leave it and pursue my childhood dream, filmmaking.
did you receive any recognition for Little Things?
– Accolade Competition, USA – Award of Merit for Best Short Film
– Flagler Film Festival, USA – Audience Choice for International Drama
– Flagler Film Festival, USA – Nominated for Best Foreign Film
– Highway 61 Film Festival, USA – Finalist for Best Short Film
– Flagler Film Festival, USA – Nominated for Best Actress Drama
What kind of message are you trying to convey to your fans here in Toronto?
When I heard that statistically each year thousands of people die around the world because of relationship problems with the partner, I was shocked. I wanted to remind people that we should be grateful for everything we have and we should not forget to pay attention to each other in everyday life, because little things can definitely alter our lives.
What are some ongoing or upcoming projects you are working on?Currently I’m working on a feature film which is based on a true story and it is set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in 1992.
In a few sentences, describe your artistic vision when creating films.
I like to create art-house films pertaining to personal, inspirational and social stories. I like the process of creating a beautiful image that helps to tell that story because I think that a concrete visual element opens many more emotional pathways than abstract words alone.
I enjoy making movies with interesting ideas and powerful characters. I think stories are the way to reach out to people. I want the audience to be emotionally connected in the story and I like to provide the environment which helps them to become the part of that story.
