we will meet under the chestnut tree
2019
Gennadi is a human with a strong, slightly crouched body. He lives alone in a small mountain village in the Abkhazian Caucasus. His son has moved to the capital because the village offers him no future. During the winter he uses only one room. The living room becomes the bedroom and kitchen at the same time. It is the only space with a fireplace and in winter it is too cold in the rest of the house. So he has arranged himself on the sofa. When he goes to sleep, he has a knife - a gift from Soviet times - under his pillow. The light is always on, even during the day. People do not pay for the electricity. It comes from the Enguri hydroelectric power plant, which Georgia is forced to share with Abkhazia because it is right on the border. In the light of the ceiling lamp he shows me photos of his friends and loves, of his family and of him. He shows me his botanical encyclopedias. He knows all the plants and animals in the area. Nature is the greatest treasure he has. Over a game of backgammon, he tells me about his dreams and promises, when I return, to take me hunting in the snow-covered mountains.