TBILISI
CITY AND IDENTITY

Geographically located in Asia, Georgia has always considered itself rather a country of European culture. First the Christian religion and then the country's inclusion in the Russian Empire and in the Soviet Union, have played a very important role in its approach to the western world. The recent inclusion of Georgia in several political, economic and cultural programs of the European Union made this links even clearer, enforcing in recent years Georgian and European partnerships with the aim of the development of the country. On the other hand, the last war between Georgia and Russia in 2008, has undermined the foundations of this process, questioning the confidence that Europe was winning in the eyes of the Georgians. Martin Klaucke, representative of the European Union in Georgia, and George Ovashvili, filmmaker of international reputation, present in this interview their very different perspectives on this issue, which has also been addressed in the last one of Ovashvili's movies. Beyond the signs of development and renewal of the last decade visible in the city center, in Tbilisi still lie a lot of fear and uncertainty about the future. And the optimism and desire of creating a prosperous state within the European influence strikes even more in Georgian rural areas against a mentality and a social situation very far from the European ones.