Mzia leaves the room

11 MINUTES

Mzia the elevator operator leaves her post for the first time in two decades

For 19 years, Mzia Sabanadze has operated her apartment building’s elevator with such devotion that it’s become an extension of herself. Indeed, she’s rarely left the concrete structure, where she resides in Tbilisi, Georgia, for two decades. Her life almost exclusively unfolds between her cluttered apartment unit, where she keeps a watchful eye on the elevator via CCTV, and the nearby units of friends.

Mzia Leaves the Room follows Sabanadze as she journeys far from home for the first time in many years, travelling to Georgia’s Racha region – a place of sentimental value to her and her late husband, whose loss she still mourns. Shooting on film, the US director Madeline Leary draws out her subject’s idiosyncratic charms, as well as the contrasts between the industrial, post-Soviet character of Georgia’s largest city and the beauty of its countryside. This small slice of a single life culminates in a warm and rewarding journey. Tracing Sabanadze’s path into the world and back again, the film invites viewers to reflect on the shapeshifting contours of grief, and the rituals – small and large – that give our lives meaning.

Director: Madeline Leary

Producer: Giorgi Davladze

Explore more

Photo of a person reading Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” with a red decorative cover while sitting near a window.

My year of slow-reading War and Peace

Reading a chapter a day of War and Peace shows how a manageable, regular habit can build into a much bigger accomplishment

by Freya Howarth

Two people lying on a snowy road in winter clothing with a forested landscape in the background.
GRIEF

Frøydis faces an impossible problem – how to grieve a father she hated and loved

Directed by Frøydis Fossli Moe

Illustration of two stylised people running on a boardwalk near the sea with telegraph poles and wires in the background.

How increasing short-term pleasure can help you achieve your long-term goals

Video by TED-Ed

Black and white photo of a man and woman sitting under an umbrella; the woman leans on the man’s shoulder.

True contact is found in silence

For Emil Cioran, ‘true contact’ with another is the deep intimacy that emerges through mute togetherness

by Sam Dresser

A man wearing a robe sitting amidst rubble between two damaged red cars. He holds his head and has boxes and bags beside him.
GRIEF

Fieldnotes from my father’s funeral

I’d reported on earthquakes, murders and suicide attacks. I was still unprepared to watch my dad die

by Salman Masood

An elderly man smiling broadly with sunglasses on, reclining on a floral lounge chair beside an elderly woman outdoors.
LOVE

Does it matter if your romantic partner is similar to you?

From traits like extraversion to specific habits, there are many ways a couple can match. New research tests whether it helps

by Phuong Linh L Nguyen & Moin Syed

Black and white photo of people embracing and saying goodbye at a train station.
LOVE

It’s possible to become wiser in who you entrust with your love

Love is not merely irrational – there’s a sense in which it’s also based on reason, which means we can get better at it

by Joel Van Fossen

Paper collage of a man and a woman lying on the floor petting a grey rabbit and a white cat with a small table in the background.

After a life-altering diagnosis, Case crafts a loving message to his future self

A film by Case Jernigan