When filmmaker Eric Baudelaire posted a letter to ‘Maxim Gvinjia, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sukhum, Republic of Abkhazia,’ he expected it to be returned immediately with a ‘destination unknown’ notice. To his surprise, ten weeks later he received a phone call from Max saying that he had received the letter but could not reply on paper as the post office in Abkhazia could not handle international mail. So begins a playful exchange of letters and developing friendship between Eric and Max that chronicles the story of the contested state of Abhkazia, which seceded from Georgia during the civil war in 1992-1993 and remains recognised by just a handful of countries. In a year when questions of self-determined statehood are in the forefront of our minds, Letters to Max is a timely meditation on the paradox of a country, both as a physical and legal space, and how new nations might be imagined into existence.

• The screening of Letters To Max on Tue 13 Oct is part of our Cinébites deal: Get 30% off any main dish in the Café/Bar with a valid cinema ticket.

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