Georgian director Ana Urushadze has premiered her second feature film, *Supporting Role*, in competition at the Sarajevo Film Festival, describing it as one of the last projects to emerge from Georgia's film industry before conditions worsened. She says the sector is now in "a dead-end situation", with directors, producers, writers and performers boycotting the state funding body, the Georgian National Film Center, over censorship concerns and other grievances, leaving many talented filmmakers unable to make features.

Set in Tbilisi, *Supporting Role* stars Dato Bakhtadze as Niaz Ninua, an ageing star known for heroic roles who is initially offended when a young director, Aza (Elene Maisuradze), offers him an unsympathetic part in her debut film, before embarking on a transformative journey around the city. It is Urushadze's first feature since her 2017 debut *Scary Mother* won the festival's top prize, the Heart of Sarajevo, and it is competing before a jury led by Emily Watson, with a winner due later this week. Urushadze said the story was partly inspired by casting experiences on her debut, including an encounter with an older actor offended by her inexperience.