David Agiashvili

David Agiashvili (; July 28, 1949 – February 12, 2014) was a Georgian film director and screenwriter. As a young man, he starred in the 1968 film Gangashi, a role that made him widely recognized across Georgia and, according to retrospective coverage, won him enduring public affection for the rest of his life, even though it remained his only screen acting credit.

Biography David Agiashvili was born in Tbilisi on July 28, 1949, in the family of the writer Nikoloz Agiashvili. He graduated from the faculty of philology of the Tbilisi State University majoring in journalism. The Agiashvili surname is associated with a historic Georgian noble family from the Kingdom of Imereti, with documented records dating to the 17th century. He was the father of filmmaker Nika Agiashvili and actor George Finn, and his daughter Maia Agiashvili was a novelist.

Acting career In 1968, Agiashvili played the lead role of Dato in director Nikoloz Sanishvili's film Gangashi, appearing alongside Manana Tskhovrebova as Tsitsino, Gogi Kavtaradze as Karaman, and Leri Gaprindashvili as Bondo. Although it was the only film in which he appeared as an actor, the role left a lasting impression on Georgian audiences; a 2023 retrospective in Artinfo.ge described him as one of the most beloved faces in Georgian cinema on the strength of that single performance. Entertainment outlet PrimeTime.ge likewise noted that the 1968 role remained the performance for which he was best remembered by the public.

Career as writer, director, and producer In 1974–1977, David worked as a story editor and later chief story editor of the animated association at the film studio Kartuli Pilmi (Georgia Movie). From 1977 to 1995, he was the story editor of the Georgian Television Movie company, becoming head of its scenario workshop from 1979. His children are: Maia Agiashvili, Nika Agiashvili and George Finn.

David Agiashvili died on February 12, 2014, in Los Angeles, California, US. Later that same day, Tbilisi, I Love You — the film he had spent two years developing and producing, premiered in Tbilisi; the screening was dedicated to his memory.

Awards State Prize of Georgia, for the documentary Eksperimenti (1979) (executive producer) A Green Story (executive producer), 2012 Tbilisi, I Love You (producer), 2014 Fall of the Empire (producer), 1994 , 1968, Dato (as D. Agiashvili)

As writer Elsa (TV Movie), 1991 It Snowed on Winter Gardens Twelfth Night, or What You Will Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (1990), a Georgian SSR–Czechoslovak–West German co-production The Window Our Meri For Georgia, Boys, Stand Up Straight (documentary, director and screenwriter), 1981