In Georgia, between the Black and Caspian Seas, a powerful and mysterious man collects trees from across the country, summoning them from native forests and villages to his estate where they are replanted. As Taming the Garden director Salomé Jashi filmed this arduous and perplexing process over two years, ancient and enormous trees were painstakingly (and painfully, for some villagers) disappeared from mountain ranges and carried across seas to their strange new domain. While the practice is both eccentric and upsetting, the staggering scale of resources deployed to extract living history is observed with a patient cinematic eye, both forensic and elegiac in scope. Jashi’s camera bears witness to the destructive folly, employing visual and sonic compositions that highlight the endeavor’s absurdity, tragedy, and startlingly, its beauty. Breathtaking and confounding, Taming that Garden documents a singular parable of endless metaphoric possibilities.  TM

Filmmaker Q&A available

This film is only available to viewers in the United States