ANALYTICAL | THE ENDLESS WORLD OF TV SERIES
THE ENDLESS WORLD OF TV SERIES | ANALYTICAL
SSTR: How do you cover the expenses of production? In which
countries the viewers are already watching your series Life – You’re
Wonderful and My Family?
Khazar TV: Advertising revenues and state aid form a major part of
the budget. We have been shooting our TV series Life – You’re Wonderful
and My Family since 2013. They were already shown during the MIPTV
2015 in Cannes, World Content Market 2015 in Moscow, and ATF 2015 in
Singapore. To this day, our series are broadcasting only in Azerbaijan, but
there are negotiations with some foreign televisions underway.
Conclusion.
As always, it was quite interesting to communicate with our partners
from Azerbaijan. Moreover, we found out that this channel is planning
to show a lot of new products in 2016, there are features, documentaries,
and animated films, which they have already bought at Japan Content
Showcase - 2015 in Tokyo. All that is left now is to wish them prosperity
and high ratings! And we’re moving to the next neighbor country!
“One of these studios with the motto
More interesting than TV really got
our attention! It is called GDS and
produces perhaps one of the best
Georgian drama series”.
GEORGIA, GDS TV
Surely, our keen readers know Federico Fellini, and thus would
believe all wise words the maestro once said. His comments always had
something special about them, particularly when they concerned the
things he really liked. So, what do you think about the following Fellini’s
statement: “Georgian film is a completely unique phenomenon, vivid,
philosophically inspiring,
very wise, childlike. There
is everything that can
make me cry and I ought
to say that it (my crying)
is not an easy thing.” We
think he was right, and
the poetic land of Mikheil
Chiaureli, Otar Iosseliani,
Sergei Parajanov, etc.
will certainly continue
to amaze the world with
new films. And, since our
present edition is devoted
to TV series, why don’t we
take a glance at one of the
Georgian series? Dictum
factum – what is said is
done!
It is assumed that
Georgian TV appeared
in 1956, when the First
Channel
(1TV)
was
established. Now there
are about 10 channels and
16 | SEASON SCREEN TV REVIEW | ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 2016
some major studios. One of these studios with the motto More interesting
than TV really got our attention! It is called GDS and produces perhaps
one of the best Georgian drama series. The company always tends to
experiment and is not afraid to produce new series, which might be unusual
for local viewers. At the moment, they have three successful original series:
Tiflis, Kerch: The Lost Heroes, and Paradox.
We decided to focus on the zombie series Paradox, because they
were made in co-production with a Ukrainian TV-channel NLO. So,
the journalists of SSRT immediately got in touch with Tamara Edgar,
programming director of the GDS.
“We are open to discuss any project,
because it is very cheap to film in
Georgia compared to any other
place. We have: tax incentives
of 20% for foreign production,
huge stock of talented professionals
waiting for the next project,
and wonderful locations”.
TAMARA EDGAR
GDS TV
Programming Director
Interview.
SSTR: It is known that your series was created under
the direction of high-level professionals, including Levan
Bakhia, who won the New York Film Festival in 2015 with
his horror film Mina. So, would you tell us, please, about
your leaders, directors, and products?
GDS: Our highest value is quality. So, whatever GDS is trying
to produce, films, drama series, or sitcoms, it always strives to
attain the highest quality. I think this was one of the reasons of
our success. Of course, our current CEO Jaba Mekladze, who is
the creator of Paradox, and later the most talented Levan Bakhia
contributed a lot to the series’ success. GDS is very lucky to have
extremely talented directors. Tiflis and The Lost Heroes, which
are filmed by Levan Dabrundashvili, were also lucky to get the
most talented crew and director. Paradox is my favorite because it
is not another zombie survival series, and it is not another vampire
saga. We have a new and different version of an apocalyptic virus
and a new race of monsters. Paradox is a drama series, which talks
about life and death, and what the world would be like once the
current order is changed. It is so much more than just a Sci-Fi
series.
SSTR: Could you remember something interesting about
your series? Were there any unusual or comic situations
during the filming?
GDS: Of course there were. Tiflis and The Lost Heroes are
period dramas, while Paradox is set in a post-apocalyptic world,
ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 2016 | SEASON SCREEN TV REVIEW | 17