Otar Pertakhia
- Guion
Otar Pertakhia is a Georgian playwright and screenwriter based in New York City. He was born in Sokhumi, Abkhazia (Georgia), and, like thousands of other internally displaced civilians, was forced to flee his home with his family during the war in Abkhazia in 1993. They resettled in Tbilisi, where he later graduated with honors from the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University, studying screenwriting under Erlom Akhvlediani, one of the most prominent film writers in Georgian cinema.
One of Otar Pertakhia's earliest plays, In the Elevator (2000), quickly drew attention from leading Georgian theater figures, including director Temur Chkheidze, actor and sports commentator Kote Makharadze, and legendary actress Sofiko Chiaureli, who produced its premiere at the Veriko one-actor theater in Tbilisi in 2004. The play received the highest critical acclaim at the 2013 International Festival of Playwrights in Armenia, where it was named the discovery of the festival, and has since gained international recognition. It has been translated into multiple languages.
Following its early acclaim, In the Elevator was selected for the 2025 United Solo Theatre Festival in New York. Its English-language production sold out within 14 days of being listed on June 6. On June 20, Theatre Row marked the show as sold out, securing its place among the fastest-selling solo shows in the festival's history - nearly six months ahead of its scheduled performance on November 22.
Pertakhia's screenwriting credits include Down the River (2014), which premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and received awards at SEEfest (Los Angeles), LET'S CEE (Vienna), and others. His most recent feature, The Bridge (2023), is a Georgian-Turkish co-production.
Since 2018, Pertakhia has lived and worked in New York City, continuing to craft stories for both stage and screen.
One of Otar Pertakhia's earliest plays, In the Elevator (2000), quickly drew attention from leading Georgian theater figures, including director Temur Chkheidze, actor and sports commentator Kote Makharadze, and legendary actress Sofiko Chiaureli, who produced its premiere at the Veriko one-actor theater in Tbilisi in 2004. The play received the highest critical acclaim at the 2013 International Festival of Playwrights in Armenia, where it was named the discovery of the festival, and has since gained international recognition. It has been translated into multiple languages.
Following its early acclaim, In the Elevator was selected for the 2025 United Solo Theatre Festival in New York. Its English-language production sold out within 14 days of being listed on June 6. On June 20, Theatre Row marked the show as sold out, securing its place among the fastest-selling solo shows in the festival's history - nearly six months ahead of its scheduled performance on November 22.
Pertakhia's screenwriting credits include Down the River (2014), which premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and received awards at SEEfest (Los Angeles), LET'S CEE (Vienna), and others. His most recent feature, The Bridge (2023), is a Georgian-Turkish co-production.
Since 2018, Pertakhia has lived and worked in New York City, continuing to craft stories for both stage and screen.
