Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Immediately Release Giorgi Mrevlishvili!
The ICFR stands in full support of the Georgian (Kartveli) doc filmmaker Giorgi Mrevlishvili, in detention for taking part in his country’s civic protests.
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) stands in full support of the Georgian (Kartveli) documentary filmmaker Giorgi Mrevlishvili, sentenced to seven days in detention for taking part in his country’s ongoing civic protests. The ICFR calls on the global film community to speak out in solidarity with Giorgi Mrevlishvili, and urges the authorities of Georgia to immediately and unconditionally release him and drop all administrative charges.
On October 30, 2025, Giorgi Mrevlishvili was detained by police while taking his child to a doctor. According to reports by the Documentary Association Georgia (DOCA), he was arrested under administrative charges for allegedly blocking Rustaveli Avenue, where daily demonstrations have been taking place since the government’s turn away from the country’s European course. Under a newly introduced law, such participation can lead to short-term imprisonment. Soon after his arrest, Giorgi was sentenced to seven days of detention.
As an answer to the government turning its back on EU accession and democratic values, demonstrators have been gathering in front of the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, blocking the road. The practice of freedom of assembly has become almost the only remaining form of civil expression, as government and public institutions, including the courts and public broadcaster, have been centralized and brought under direct control of the Georgian Dream party, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
However, the situation extends beyond Giorgi’s individual case. It signals a growing risk to filmmakers, journalists, and citizens whose work or civic engagement brings them into contact with these protests. Until recently, people identified as “road blockers” were fined approximately €1,800. With the aim of dispersing the protest movement, Parliament has made the law significantly stricter: as of October 19, those participating in demonstrations that block roads face up to 15 days in prison under administrative charges. Repeat offences are now treated as criminal cases, carrying sentences of up to one year in jail.
The film community in Georgia expects that more filmmakers may face similar persecution, whether because of their filmmaking practice or their civil activism, and recognizes the urgent need to prepare for this escalating pressure.
Giorgi Mrevlishvili is a Kartveli documentary filmmaker and the director of National Exams, 12 Lessons, Zurabi, and other works. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and has been documenting the public protests unfolding in Georgia in recent months. Those who know Giorgi describe him as a peaceful, principled, and compassionate artist, devoted to truth-telling and civic engagement. His detention represents a serious threat to freedom of expression and to the safety of filmmakers documenting public life in Georgia.
The ICFR stands with Giorgi Mrevlishvili, and joins Documentary Association Georgia (DOCA), as well as the European Film Academy (EFA) and the International Documentary Association (IDA), in urgently appealing to the Georgian authorities to release him and uphold the rights of artists to observe, record, and participate in public life without fear or intimidation.
The International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk