Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University of Georgia announced that renowned film scholar, critic, director, writer, journalist and professor Giorgi (Gogi) Dolidze has passed away.
Dolidze graduated from the Tbilisi State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages in 1959, specializing in English and French. Between 1961 and 1970, he worked in various publishing houses before joining the Rustaveli Theatre Institute in 1970 where he dedicated decades to teaching. From 1992 to 2005, he served as the Vice-Rector of the institution.
Between 1981 and 1987, Dolidze directed the restoration of 18 classic Georgian feature films, including landmark works such as Aleksandre Tsutsunava’s ‘Two Hunters’ and ‘Khanuma’, Kote Marjanishvili’s ‘Amoki,’ ‘Krazana,’ ‘The Communard’s Pipe’, Mikheil Chiaureli’s ‘Saba,’ and Davit Rondeli’s ‘Ughubziara.’ He also helped revive rare surviving films featuring Lado Alexi-Meskhishvili, including ‘The Avenging God’ and ‘The Shame of the Orlov Family.’
As a film historian and critic, Dolidze authored numerous scholarly and critical essays on the history of Georgian cinema. His literary contributions also included translations of Mark Twain’s ‘Humorous Stories and Pamphlets’, Mayne Reid’s ‘Lost in the Ocea’ and other works.
He was a laureate of the Niko Nikoladze Prize and, since 2005, chaired the Board of the Chokhosani Knights’ Order of Georgia named after Kakutsa Cholokashvili while also serving as the editor-in-chief of the order’s journal, ‘Raini’.
In 2012 the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia hosted a presentation of his book, ‘Vasil Amashukeli – Pioneer of Caucasian Cinema.’
