Nana was born in Tblisi, Georgia, then part of the Soviet Union. She studied architecture in her home town and was an architect from 1968 to 1973. From 1974, she drew closer to the movie world and studied cinema at the Tbilisi film school. She did several jobs on the set but what she favored was film direction and she made several films, often shorts, before winning the "Caméra d'Or" Award at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. She is one of the leading filmmakers of Georgia, alongside Otar Ioseliani.
Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992
Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1997.
