Rati Tsiteladze was born in post-Soviet Georgia. He studied acting and filmmaking at the Hybrid Conservatory, Los Angeles. He is an alumnus of Locarno Academy, TIFF Filmmaker Lab, HFPA Film Independent and Berlinale Talent Project Market. At age 21, he won the title of World Champion in martial arts, but in 2014, when filmmaking became the overpowering passion in his life, he left his fighting career and founded ArtWay Film production. Rati directed and produced several short films that won over 50 awards worldwide and screened at more than 300 festivals, including Melbourne, Hong Kong, Leeds and Locarno. His recent work Prisoner of Society (2018) won numerous Oscar® qualifying awards and it is the first Georgian short documentary nominated for European Film Academy Awards. With his feature film project, The Empty House he won the Eurimages Award at TIFF and Special Mention at Locarno. He was selected among 6 directors at Cannes Cinéfondation Residence and won the first HFPA/Film Independent Award by Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globes®.