And Then We Danced

Since early childhood, Merab has been a member of the National Georgian Ensemble, which focuses on traditional dance. The lead choreographer is strict with the dancers: Georgian dance does not express sexuality, just the soul of the nation. And that means the Orthodox religion, traditional gender roles and family values. It is therefore not only the strict dance rules, but also the rigid opinions of society that influence the life of the hardworking youth whose dream is to perform abroad. But when Irakli appears at the practice sessions, Mareb's world is shaken. He faces a new rival, but is simultaneously confronted with a mesmerizing attraction to another man. Throbbing in the rhythm of energetic music, Levan Akin's sensual romance captures the desire to be free, as well as the conflict we may feel regarding our roots. This sincere, emotionally raw drama won Best Film at the Odessa IFF and Best Director at the Sarajevo IFF.

Levan Akin

Levan Akin, a Swede with Georgian roots, studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York and later interned at the studio of Swedish director Roy Andersson. He debuted with Certain People (2011), and his second film, The Circle (2015), was presented at the Berlinale. The world premiere of And Then We Danced (2019) was hosted by the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes. Akin is also behind the Real Humans TV series (2012).