Mariam Kandelaki

Grand Competition Feature Film

Mariam Kandelaki is a Georgian animation director, producer, and cultural organizer with more than three decades of experience in animation and audiovisual storytelling. She has directed and produced numerous animated and hybrid film projects that have been screened and awarded at international festivals. Kandelaki is the founder of several key animation initiatives in the Black Sea region, including the Animation Project Development Workshop, created in collaboration with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Georgian Animators Association SAQANIMA, and the ANIMA Tbilisi International Animation Conference, contributing significantly to the development of the regional animation industry and international co-production networks. She is also the organizer of the Nikozi International Animation Film Festival. She has served as a jury member at numerous international animation festivals, including the Paris International Animation Film Festival, Animest International Animation Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and the Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films, among others. Mariam Kandelaki is a board member of the CEE Animation and the Emile European Animation Awards, and a member of the European Film Academy. Her produced animated shorts, including The Pocket Man and Abandoned Village, have received numerous international awards. In 2026, she was honored with the Giannalberto Bendazzi Award at the Paris International Animation Film Festival for her outstanding contribution to animation culture and industry development.