She studied at Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University under Tengiz Abuladze, graduating in 1981.

[1] Janelidze worked with Tengiz Abuladze on the 1984 film Repentance as screenwriter and music designer.

The film won the Grand Prix at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and won the Nika Award in six categories, including Best Screenplay.

[2] In 2000 Janelidze and actress Nanuka Khuskivadze founded the film production studio N&N.

[2] In 2019 a teaser was released of a biographical film on the life of Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka, directed by Janelidze, in a co-production between Georgia and Ukraine.