What to do with all this love

The Georgian Republic: An orthodox multi-ethnic mix in the wild Caucasus, the borderland between the East and West. The Zakaria-Paliashvili Music School for gifted children is located on a hill above the capital city of Tbilisi. The plaster is crumbling, and the stairs are riddled with holes. Hardly any instrument can be tuned anymore, and many teachers are so old that they could be the great-grandparents of their students.

Those who are allowed to step through the battered main entrance after the strict entrance examination do so with pride because former Paliashvili students regularly conquer the world’s stages. The violinist Lisa Batiashvili and pianist Khatia Buniatishvili were taught here.

The children dream of such a success, their parents all the more so. It is not uncommon for entire families to move from remote regions to the capital to make their children’s education possible.

The film accompanies the students of the Paliashvili Music School and their teachers over the course of one school year. Can they cope with the pressure? What makes them quarrel, what makes them despair? And what motivates students and teachers time and again?

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS LOVE is an observant and character-based documentary about a magical place. A film about growing up and aging, about farewells and new beginnings, about great dreams and the art of improvisation.