E Então Nós Dançamos

If you want a different, warm, gripping and engaging drama - this is the movie! This heartwarming story from Georgia is a charmbomb. Incredibly well filmed with the storytelling taking place in Tiblisi. We follow a young man's encounter with his first love, in unfamiliar surroundings (at least for me). Great performances by these young actors make it both poignant and believable. I think the protagonist of the film clearly manages to show the challenges of being gay, in an environment that is clearly not ready for it. The film's message of what love and sorrow does to us is universal, but the place and surroundings this takes place in this film, lift it up and make it a special and touching experience in the cinema. Thanks to the Oslo Fusion Film Festival setting up this one, I hope it gets wide release worldwide. A warm recommendation from me.

...to present and explore a story of prejudice and the resistance of out of touch traditions, mindsets and perceptions to an individuals right to be who they are. Beautifully orchestrated and choreographed, engaging performances all round, genuinely sincere, honest and believable (unfortunately).

Never before in cinema have I seen a relationship in which I would so genuinely believe. In every word, move, look, gesture of Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani) I can see and feel an ordinary young artist struggling with self-identification and experiencing first love.

The idea of portraying gay romance in such a conservative country as Georgia could give the director Levan Akin many reasons to be moralistic and pretentious. Yet the end result is by no means like this. In every scene, every word, it is subtle, naturalistic, thought-provoking without any unnecessary preachiness. Opinions and feelings are conveyed through music and dance, which enables the film to achieve all its purposes in a delicate yet decisive way.

Akin does not portray Georgian society as something evil. As everywhere, there are people who hate, people who do not understand and people who support. 'And Then We Danced' is a meaningful masterpiece made by those who support not only for those who need the support, but also for those who do not understand yet.

There is no sexuality in Georgian dance. There is also no place for individuality, nor for weakness. There is tradition, there is pride for the country. And nothing more. Using the beautiful traditional male Georgian dance as a metaphor, Levan Akin's 'And then We Danced' explores themes of fragile masculinity and sexuality in a way that is refreshing, organic, and powerful. This gorgeously lensed film also offers tender and warm story about identity, self-discovery, first love and sexual awakening, led by an outstanding performance from Levan Gelbakhiani.

For director the one challenge is to shoot a film about LGBTQ issue and not to dramatize script, another is to take Georgian film about the same issue and do not express a enormous wave of aggression to homophobia and to catch the balance. If you ask me why I will answer: In Georgia plenty people are on the side of homophobia. From my point of view the main problem is that they think LGBTQ people are strangers, they live somewhere not near them, not in their families, not in their neighborhood or in the circles of friends. They think gays are some savage, immoral people without families or normal lives.

And then there is the movie AND THEN WE DANCED. Director is catching the balance, it doesn't show any aggression, it only tells that gay people are between us, as normal as anyone and we only need to face that and to be humane.

The film is kind and emotional. RECOMMEND! Maybe after watching this film people haunted by homophobia will rethink the issue.