Asia Society New York presents Otar Iosseliani: Fables of Modern Life

Co-presented by Metrograph and Klassiki

 

July 24-25, 2026

Asia Society: 725 Park Ave, NYC

 

Falling Leaves, 1966

 

Asia Society presents the premiere of three new restorations by acclaimed Georgian auteur Otar Ioselliani, Friday and Saturday July 24-25, 2026, followed by a full retrospective at Metrograph in August.

 

Described as “the true heir to Renoir, Tati, and Buñuel,” Otar Iosseliani was a devout anti-confirmist whose lyrical, anarchic comedies are closer to musical composition than conventional narrative cinema. Employing long takes with minimal cuts and allowing his subjects to overlap and intertwine, his films are propelled by behavior, milieu, and witty observations of the everyday. In the words of critic Bernard Eisenschitz, Iosseliani cultivated the feeling that “every moment should be lived as an adventure.” Iosseliani achieved his breakthrough with Falling Leaves, a landmark of the new Georgian cinema, which won the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes Critics Week in 1967. His follow up features—Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird (1970) and Pastorale (1979)—solidified his status as “a watercolorist of everyday life” (Raphaël Bassan). (Cinema Guild)

 

Co-presented by Metrograph and Klassiki.

The schedule of screenings at Asia Society follows with synopses courtesy of Metrograph. These screenings take place at Asia Society in New York, 725 Park Ave at 70th Street.

Members of the media interesting in attending screenings or in more information about the series should email pr@asiasociety.org.

 

 

#Falling Leaves

Otar Iosseliani, Georgia, 1966, 91 min. 

In Georgian and Russian with English subtitles. 

Fri. July 24 at 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

 

Iosseliani’s debut feature—winner of the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes—follows newly minted oenologists Nico and Otar, just out of winemaking school, as they head to work at an agricultural cooperative in Tbilisi.

New 4K restoration commissioned by Pastorale Productions.

 

#There Once Was a Singing Blackbird

Otar Iosseliani, Georgia, 1971, 78 min. 

In Georgian and Russian with English subtitles. 

Sat. July 25 at 12:30 - 1:50 p.m.

 

A marvelous character study of an open-handed, incurably impulsive young man infected by the bustling, on-the-go energy of the city around him, and a film that careens along with the same freewheeling spontaneity displayed by its protagonist.

New 4K restoration commissioned by Pastorale Productions.

 

#Pastorale

Otar Iosseliani, Georgia, 1975, 95 min. 

In Georgian and Russian with English subtitles. 

Sat. July 25 at 2:30 - 4:05 p.m.

 

A Tbilisi-based string quartet, seeking a quiet place to practice, light out for a mountain village, taking lodgings with the family of a long-haul truck driver and rehearsing on the house’s veranda as, around them, the daily life of the mountain hamlet continues unabated.

New 4K restoration commissioned by Pastorale Productions.

 

 

Tickets for each screening are $15 for the general public.

A limited amount of complimentary tickets will be available to students with ID at the box office on the day of each screening.

Find out more about upcoming events and buy tickets at AsiaSociety.org/NY