Kakha Mshvidobadze

History matters to Kakha Mshvidobadze. Across everything he does, from television documentaries to still portraiture and sports content, his purpose is to record events so they can be replayed and reflected on for years to come. Working on projects where he's filmed artefacts that are tens of thousands of years old has cemented this mission. "Filming and taking photographs of the true stories of people living right now is what I want to leave for the next generation. It's my letter to the future."

Kakha was born in Abkhazia, Georgia, where he lived until 1992 when war broke out and he was forced to flee to Tbilisi with his family, becoming an internally displaced person (IDP). He was familiar with photography thanks to his father, who was passionate about taking, developing and printing his own photos, often featuring Kakha and his brother. Aged 13, he joined after-school classes in filmmaking and photography at a centre for IDP youth run by an international NGO. "It was my first real experience with filmmaking and storytelling, and I fell in love with it," Kakha says.

As a student of film, television and cinematography at Tbilisi State University, Kakha would go to internet cafes with friends, but while they were playing online games, he'd be on forums, a Georgian-English dictionary open beside him, finding out everything he could about how to light a scene, and the cameras and lenses for different situations. After leaving university in 2007, he was selected for a sought-after internship with Rustavi 2, one of Georgia's biggest broadcasting companies, and offered a position.

It was there he met documentary filmmaker and writer Toma Chagelishvili, beginning a collaboration that went on to include a 2014 National Geographic Georgia article on the earliest known dyed textile fibres, dating back more than 32,000 years, and I Didn't Cross the Border, The Border Crossed Me (2016), a documentary that was selected for the Odessa International Film Festival.

While his main focus is non-fiction, Kakha has worked as DoP on popular Georgian TV comedies and dramas, regularly shoots sports and undertakes his own photographic projects.

His documentary work includes Muradi (above), a short film shot on the Canon EOS C50 about a young shepherd who spends his summers in the mountains of Bakhmaro, Georgia, tending to his livestock and taking care of his horses. Every year, Murad takes part in the region's traditional horse race, a competition he has won many times.

In 2022, he made The Last of Us, a portrait series highlighting Georgia's remaining Second World War veterans. "It was emotional for me to be able to share their stories," says Kakha, whose own early experiences of having to leave his birthplace and start somewhere new have shaped his outlook on photography. "When you travel, it's hard to hold onto memories. But a photograph, it takes you back. It's a time machine."

Is there a shared motivation across your work, whether documentaries, sports or portraits?

"The motivation for me is interest. I want to discover something new and, using the camera, show it to others from my point of view. That's why I was drawn to documentary, more than fiction. I might see something that others can't – a small shift in the light, even for just a second, and that might tell the whole story. To convey emotion, you need to take a photograph, or press record, at exactly the right time."

What makes a good collaboration between a DoP and a director?

"The cinematographer should understand the story and the intended impact. It's important to have a conversation with the director about how the images should feel. The most successful projects happen when you talk the same language. Sometimes you need calm, soft, long shots. Other times, you need to shoot handheld with hard light. The cinematography works in parallel with, and in service to, the direction."

You had the idea for The Last of Us while working on a documentary about Second World War veterans. What compelled you to make a stills project on the subject?

"The people in my project are different from those in the documentary but the reason I wanted to shoot portraits when I met those veterans was the look in their eyes. They had unique faces, but in their eyes I saw a depth that comes from inside. I realised I had to freeze the moment. In a thousandth of a second you can tell a story."

What piece of Canon kit can you not live without, and why?

"The Canon EOS C50. I've fallen in love with this camera. It's amazing: comfortable, lightweight and it gives me the high-end image quality that I need, whether I'm shooting a documentary or social media content. Another thing that's helpful for my work as a hybrid image-maker is that I can rapidly switch from movie mode to stills. For still photography, the best choice is the Canon EOS R5 Mark II thanks to its high resolution images, in-camera cropping and autofocus capabilities."

What else could we discover in your kitbag that helps you elevate your work?

"When I'm out on a shoot, I always make sure to take a power bank with me. Then, if I need to charge my phone, camera or lights and there isn't a power source nearby, I know I have a backup."

"Shoot more. Don't wait. Don't let the important moments pass you by. If you see something interesting or beautiful, catch it. Photography and filmmaking are the only ways we have to stop time and keep it forever. I think a lot about this. Photography and film hold our memories so we can always come back to them."

Instagram: @kakhamshvidobadze

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