Feature film from the year 2023, Germany / Georgia, with Nino Soselia and Mathilde Irrman
Director and writer: Veit Helmer
Camera: Goga Devdariani
Music: Malcolm Arison and Sóley Stefánsdóttir
An old cable car connects a village in the mountains of Georgia with a small town in the valley. When the old conductor dies, his daughter Iva returns to take over. She meets Nino, who has been working there for some time and teaches her the tricks of the trade. Day in, day out, when Iva's gondola goes up, Nino's gondola goes down and then vice versa. The two meet halfway every half hour. Collegial greetings gradually turn into teasing. And teasing turns into flirting. Iva and Nino turn their gondolas into crazy flying objects to impress each other. To the annoyance of their bitter and jealous boss. On the night that Iva and Nino have a romantic date in the gondola, he wants to put an end to their goings-on at all costs. But he has reckoned without the two lovers - and everything turns out differently than expected...
Veit Helmer's film "Gondola" is a declaration of love to the cinema. It dispenses entirely with dialog and tells the story of the two gondola riders through the subtle body language of the outstanding leading actresses, the carefully composed images and the impressive sound design. The result is a poetic film about longing, love and community.
