How Long Is “Street Days”?

A man fallen into desperate straits is asked to betray one of the only friends he has left in this realistic drama. Checkie (Guga Kotetishvili) was his early twenties when the Soviet Union collapsed and the independence of the Georgian state led many to imagine a new era of grand possibilities. Two decades later those possibilities have passed Checkie by; he's become a heroin addict who uses what's left of his wits and ambition to scare up the money for a fix. Checkie's wife has left him, and he only hears from her when she needs money to help support their son. Checkie's acquaintances among the city's pushers and users includes Ika (Irakli Ramishvili), a reckless kid with a burning curiosity about drugs. Ika's father is Zaza (Zura Sharia), a childhood friend of Checkie's who is now a respected politician and does what he can for his pal. A handful of corrupt cops think they can make a big score by busting Ika for dope and then extorting money from Zaza to keep the matter quiet; they need an insider to help, and they tell Checkie he has two choices -- go to jail or get paid to help them blackmail Zaza. Short on money for drugs and his son, Checkie warily agrees, but tries to find a way out of the scam before Ika and Zaza run afoul of the cops. Quchis Dgeebi (aka Street Days) was the first feature-length film from writer and director Levan Koguashvili.