{"id":36410,"date":"2026-08-10T12:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T07:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=36410"},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T07:09:00","slug":"tear-gas-is-a-fiction-film-shot-inside-real-protests-in-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=36410","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Tear Gas&#8217; Is a Fiction Film Shot Inside Real Protests in Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tElene, 16, and her war-scarred family are drawn into a mass protest in Tbilisi that transforms the streets of the capital of Georgia into a battleground for freedom. But it also forces them to confront the conflicts that are already threatening to tear them apart. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tDoes this read like a synopsis for a fiction or a documentary film to you? Well, whatever answer you give, you are kind of right. Because this is not just any film. It is <em>Tear Gas<\/em> from Georgian writer-director Uta Beria (<em>Negative Numbers<\/em>). And it is a fiction film shot inside real demonstrations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe movie will world premiere on Aug. 12 in the Filmmakers of the Present competition program of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/2026-locarno-film-festival-program-unveiled-hong-sang-soo-1236641562\/\">79th edition<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/locarno-film-festival-poster-2026-cindy-sherman-1236579961\/\">Locarno\u00a0Film Festival<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAt the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/international\/\" id=\"auto-tag_international_1\" data-tag=\"international\">International<\/a> Film Festival Rotterdam\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/2025-rotterdam-iffr-pro-award-winners-1236127822\/\">IFFR Pro<\/a> industry section, the project last year won two awards: the inaugural HBF Empowerment Award, worth \u20ac10,000 ($11,000), with the jury highlighting its urgent themes of freedom of expression and political tension, and the Outward Gaze Award, another \u20ac10,000 honor, from the PJLF Arts Fund.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tProduced by Nino Chichua, Anna Khazaradze and Beria, and co-produced by Guillaume Dreyfus, Delphine Schmit, Daniel Tenn\u00e9 and Junus Baker, <em>Tear Gas<\/em> features a cast including Taisia Eradze, Mzia Arabuli, Gaga Shishinashvili, Kato Kalatozishvili and Boris Andronikashvili. The cinematographer is Goga Devdariani, while the editor is Nodar Nozadze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe title has a deeper meaning. \u201cTear gas is a weapon created to disperse us, tear us apart, make us cry, and restrict our breathing,\u201d highlights Beria. \u201cBut in reality, when you inhale it and panic takes over, you instinctively begin fighting for what is most precious to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:968px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((545\/968)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tear-Gas-2.jpg?w=968\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"545\" width=\"968\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">\u2018Tear Gas\u2019 film still, courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/locarno-film-festival\/\" id=\"auto-tag_locarno-film-festival_1\" data-tag=\"locarno-film-festival\">Locarno Film Festival<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Locarno Film Festival<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tTear gas is regularly used by police in Tbilisi to break up anti-government demonstrations that have taken place without interruption for more than 600 days. The reason is that protesters fear that the Republic of Georgia will continue following an authoritarian path similar to Russia\u2019s, crushing their hopes and dreams of being another Western-style democracy that is a member of NATO and the EU.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tOne of the symbols of their fear and anger is the so-called Foreign Agents Law, often simply called \u201cthe Russia law\u201d as it is seen as similar to one that Russian President Vladimir Putin had rubber-stamped to allow crackdowns on civil society. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAhead of the film\u2019s world premiere at Locarno, the filmmaker talked to <em>THR<\/em> about the genesis of <em>Tear Gas<\/em>, shooting inside actual anti-government demonstrations, which have now gone on for more than 600 days without interruption, and why the creative team feels the need to stand up for freedom of expression, no matter what the consequences may be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t<em>Tear Gas<\/em> took five years to make. \u201cI wanted to make it faster, but it was not possible,\u201d Beria tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cThe situation in Georgia is so difficult and tough, both when it comes to getting funding and because of stricter rules by the Georgian Film Center not to give money to people who don\u2019t think the same way they do \u2013 that even starts feeling like censorship. My colleagues think that maybe my film is one of the last independent projects because the situation is very tough now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIn fact, Beria shares that there is institutional pressure back home. The film got a contract with the Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) in December 2022, he says. \u201cWe delivered the first-stage accounting and audit on time, but the second stage of financing was never paid by the GNFC \u2013 we asked three times over 18 months and were never given a reason. Despite their efforts to hinder the production, we managed to complete the film. We cut the budget, raised the remaining funds ourselves and finished the film.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:3000px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((2000\/3000)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/By-Giorgi-Kolbaia.jpg?w=3000\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"2000\" width=\"3000\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">\u2018Tear Gas\u2019 behind the scenes of the shoot, courtesy of Giorgi Kolbaia<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Giorgi Kolbaia<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAfter the GNFC became aware that the film was set to premiere at Locarno, \u201cwe received a threatening letter from them,\u201d Beria tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cThey are not consenting to a public screening, and they refer to a financial sanction of 10 percent of the contract value.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tBut the Locarno world premiere is on. \u201cOur agreement with all filmmakers submitting work to the festival requires them to confirm that they hold the relevant rights to their film; this agreement was signed by the producer(s) of <em>Tear Gas<\/em>,\u201d says Olly Osborne, the Locarno Film Festival\u2019s chief communications officer, in a statement shared with <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cAny dispute regarding financing or contractual obligations between the production and the Georgian National Film Center is a matter between those two parties. The world premiere of <em>Tear Gas<\/em> will take place as planned on 12, 13, and 14 August in Locarno.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tSo, the <em>Tear Gas<\/em> team did get their film finished, but says it is now facing financial pressures. And shooting amid real-life demonstrations in the capital also proved a huge challenge. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cIt was unpredictable,\u201d Beria explains. \u201cYou go to shoot with a script for the actors. Usually, you have a plan. But in the demonstrations, we had a plan A, plan B, plan C, plan D. And there were days where we needed to think as the demonstration was going on to follow the flow.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAsking the filmmaker if he felt a sense of danger is a rhetorical question. \u201cOf course, it was very dangerous, and especially when the police were dispersing people with the use of tear gas, which happened almost every day,\u201d Beria tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cSometimes they did not announce that they would start using tear gas. We were making sure that when this brutality was starting, the actors were in a safe place. But I, the camera crew, and my DOP would stay and continue shooting.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:3000px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((2250\/3000)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/By-Nino-Chichua.jpeg?w=3000\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"2250\" width=\"3000\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">\u2018Tear Gas\u2019 behind the scenes of the shoot, courtesy of Nino Chichua<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Nino Chichua<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tHow do you communicate amid the chaos of street protests? \u201cCommunication is very difficult in big demonstrations,\u201d Beria shares. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to use walkie-talkies, because the authorities argue that the demonstrations are not spontaneous but are organized, and they have arrested people as organizers. So, we thought if the police see us with walkie-talkies, they will not ask us if we are making a film but assume we are organizers of the protests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tMobile phones then? Not really. \u201cPhones were sometimes not working. I don\u2019t know if it was because a lot of people using them overloaded the network or if the police were shutting it down,\u201d the filmmaker says. \u201cSo my assistant director came up with a smart idea. We had short and long flags, and we were using these flags to see each other in the sea of people. People who watch the film will notice that we are shooting with a long lens at a great distance, and between the actors and us, there are thousands of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThat also affected his guidance for the cast walking around the demonstrations. \u201cI told the actors that they should stay in their role, and they really did so for hours, in the state of the character,\u201d Beria explains. \u201cI told them that sometimes maybe they wouldn\u2019t know when they were in the frame. So, this incredible magic was happening where we would lose the actors, and then we would find them again, and then lose them again. It was so pure, so authentic, so natural. We really fell in love with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tDoes Beria not fear repercussions for making <em>Tear Gas<\/em>? \u201cFor me, this film was an act of resistance,\u201d he tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cSome of my friends and colleagues are in prison. I can\u2019t free them. But I could put all of myself into this film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAsked if he thinks he will end up in prison as well, Beria says: \u201cI don\u2019t know. Let\u2019s see. They don\u2019t need a reason to put you into prison anymore in Georgia. There are so many good and innocent people in prison. I don\u2019t know what to expect. They do what they want. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not going to hide so I don\u2019t go to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:3000px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((2000\/3000)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/By-Juda-Khatia-Psuturi.jpg?w=3000\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"2000\" width=\"3000\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">\u2018Tear Gas\u2019 behind the scenes of the shoot, courtesy of Juda Khatia Psuturi<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Juda Khatia Psuturi<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe creative also emphasizes: \u201cEvery member of the crew showed remarkable bravery, and I couldn\u2019t be more grateful for their commitment under such extraordinary circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe filmmaker hopes that the film will make more people around the world aware of the situation in Georgia. <\/p>\n<p>And <em>Tear Gas<\/em> seems like a powerful title to attract attention. \u201cI love the process when you are thinking about a title,\u201d Beria tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cThere were different titles before I had this idea for <em>Tear Gas<\/em>. Tear gas is a strange weapon. It\u2019s created to disperse us, to tear us apart. But in reality, when you inhale it and the panic takes over, you start to instinctively fight for the things that are precious to us and fight to not lose each other.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tConcludes Beria: \u201cThis is the main thing that I want to say with this title. In reality, tear gas forces us to fight for each other and brings us together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elene, 16, and her war-scarred family are drawn into a mass protest in Tbilisi that transforms the streets of the capital of Georgia into a battleground for freedom. But it also forces them to confront the conflicts that are already threatening to tear them apart. Does this read like a synopsis for a fiction or&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tear-Gas.webp?w=970&h=545&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}