A group of Expert Commission members of the Georgian National Film Center has launched a legal dispute against their dismissals and alleged Culture Minister’s bias in their replacement on the positions in the midst of their work to select winners of the body’s current competition for feature films.

The 7 cinema professionals said they had not received explanations of the grounds for their replacement with newly appointed members of the Commission, calling the decision “unfounded and insulting”.

They will be represented by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy NGO in the dispute, with the ISFED saying the termination of their contracts with the GNFC did not meet required standards.