Samizdat x Belmont: And Then We Danced / და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (Levan Akin, 2019)

With a pre-recorded introduction by curator Hattie Idle

Wheelchair accessible | In Georgian; with English and descriptive subtitles

While Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin recently came to prominence with 2024’s tender drama Crossing, his prior film And Then We Danced takes up similarly profound themes of queerness, acceptance, and belonging. The 2019 film is a masterclass of highly sensorial storytelling, infused with both erotic charge and heartbreaking sweetness. Starring real-life Georgian dancer Levan Gelbakhiani in his first acting role, the film follows young Mehrab in contemporary Tbilisi, who is desperate to succeed as part of a cut-throat traditional Georgian dance ensemble. Here, his family, the city, and Georgia itself are constructed as a world of rigid machismo, sterility, and ultra-conservatism – as his dance teacher at one point remarks, “there is no room for sex in Georgian dance.” With the arrival of new troupe member Ikali (Bachi Valishvili), however, Mehrab’s steely resolve and single-mindedness are blown apart, as the intoxication of forbidden love and desire takes hold. Akin’s film is a stunning exploration of queer identity in modern-day Georgia, and of the tensions between the responsibility to uphold tradition and the desire for freedom of expression which love can often bring to the surface.

Content notes: depictions of homophobia, use of slurs and verbal abuse, scenes of a sexual nature, rated 15

Access notes: loud noises

Curated by Hattie Idle

These screenings are supported by Creative Scotland's Multiyear Fund and Aberdeen City Council's Culture Investment Programme.