Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has praised a Hollywood film being made about the 2008 Russia-Georgia war but mocked Russia's efforts to produce a movie about the conflict.

During a two-day state visit to Estonia, Saakashvili gave a lecture, insisting that the Hollywood movie "is not Georgian propaganda."

For director Renny Harlin, "it's not just another story," Saakashvili said in his first public comments last week about the film, which is currently under the working title "Georgia."

"He believes that it is what was exactly played out in Georgia. He brought in a big group of idealists," Saakashvili said during his lecture at the Estonian Foreign Ministry. "These aren't people who have come [to Georgia] for money. I don't think they had a big budget in any case."

Harlin's film is a story of an American journalist, played by Val Kilmer, and his cameraman traveling to Georgia and getting caught in the escalating tension between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.

Russian media have questioned whether Harlin's film will take the Georgian side in portraying the dispute, instead of portraying both sides of the five-day conflict.

A recent Russian film used the fictional story of a nerdy American scientist and a blond Russian photojournalist to offer the Kremlin's version of the war.

Saakashvili also criticized Russia's attempt to make its own film about the conflict, pointing to its failure to recruit renowned Serbian film director Emir Kusturica.

"You know, Russian tycoons invest heavily in making films. And they couldn't really get any major filmmaker to go for it — for obvious reasons," Saakashvili said. "Their supposed friend Kusturica was brought into South Ossetia to make statements, decorated with all kinds of prizes Russians could find … but at the end he said, 'Sorry, I'm busy for the next five years.'"

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill presented Kusturica with the Alexy II Award at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on Thursday for his work in spreading and strengthening unity between Russia and Serbia. Medvedev also received the award, named after the patriarch who died in 2008. Medvedev and Kusturica met in the Kremlin for talks Friday.

Saakashvili's character, played by Andy Garcia, has a key role in the Hollywood film. Saakashvili said he met Garcia while the film was being shot in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, last year, but was not asked to consult the star of "The Godfather: Part III" and "The Untouchables."

"I had a chance to meet him briefly. The only thing he really asked me was to hear how I pronounce the name of [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy," Saakashvili said with a laugh, calling the actor of Cuban-origin "a freedom fighter."

Harlin is best known for "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," and "The Long Kiss Goodnight." In his blog, he said the film is currently in the post-production phase. "The movie is looking absolutely gorgeous. The screenplay … was great to begin with, and my amazing cast really brought the characters to life," he said.

The film is scheduled to be finished this year.

(AP, MT)