Sweden selects Levan Akin's 'And Then We Danced' as Oscars submission
Levan Gelbakhiani (right) and Bachi Valishvili portray the two protagonists of the story. Photo: Director's Fortnight.
Tweet 
Share
Filmmaker Levan Akin's Swedish-Georgian-French co-production And Then We Danced has been picked as Sweden's submission for the Best International Feature Film competition at the next Academy Awards.
The work, which this week earned the filmmaker the Best Film Award at the Carl International Film Festival in Sweden, will be among competing features considered for the prize at the next edition of the Oscars in February 2020.
Bringing a personal story of a young dancer in a Georgian national troupe coming across a newcomer and developing an intense attraction to them, the film debuted at the Directors’ Fortnight festival in Cannes in May.
Its storyline, the protagonist Merab is "thrown into an emotional storm of both strong desire and jealousy for his new companion" (Carl International Film Festival), with the encounter between the two male performers unfolding in the conservative dance company.
Actor Levan Gelbakhiani was singled out for his portrayal of Merab with the Best Actor Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, with Bachi Valishvili cast in the role of Irakli, the newcoming dancer.
Beside the Carl Film Festival prize, the feature and Gelbakhiani also took home principal awards at the Odesa International film Festival in Ukraine.
The next Academy Awards ceremony will be held on February 9.
Swedish-based film director Levan Akin, whose feature And Then We Danced has earned critical acclaim at international festivals since its release, has collected the latest accolade in the form of the Best Film Award at the Carl International Film Festival in Sweden.
Actor Levan Gelbakhiani, cast as the principal protagonist of the newly released feature And Then We Danced by filmmaker Levan Akin, has been unveiled as the winner of the Best Actor Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Four films from Georgia, ranging between short works to student productions, are on the big screen for an audience of over 100,000 cinephiles at the ongoing Sarajevo Film Festival — the leading cinema event of the Balkan region.
Swedish-Georgian co-production And Then We Danced will have its world premiere at this year’s Directors’ Fortnight festival in Cannes next month.
While the annual celebration of Tbilisi City Fest is customary to residents of the Georgian capital, this Saturday the festival will also come for the very first time to Stockholm, where Georgian cultural facets and its attraction to visitors will be showcased.
Filmmaker Levan Akin's feature And Then We Danced has been nominated for the European University Film Award, a prize by university students throughout Europe.
Swedish-Georgian co-production And Then We Danced, has won the Iris Prize Best Feature Award, which is an international LGBT film prize.
Georgian actor Levan Gelbakhiani has claimed latest round of plaudits for his performance in filmmaker Levan Akin's feature And Then We Danced after collecting the Best Actor Award at Spain's Valladolid International Film Festival last weekend, with the film itself also honoured at the event.
The festival-touring feature And Then We Danced by director Levan Akin received accolade at the Chicago International Film Festival, with the film about an emotional encounter of two male dancers joining winners of the 55th edition over the weekend.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has visited Sweden for the first time in eight years, having held meetings with the State Secretary to Minister for EU Affairs Paula Carvalho Olovsson, head of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) Carin Jamtin and members of the Georgian diaspora.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has promised to ensure safety and freedom of expression amid threats voiced by ultra-nationalist groups just before the premiere of And Then We Danced movie in Tbilisi and Batumi cinemas starting later today.
The widening collection of international awards for director Levan Akin's feature And Then We Danced and its protagonist Levan Gelbakhiani saw the addition of four prizes at the Guldbagge Awards, the leading cinema awards in Sweden, on Monday.
From pioneering director Kote Mikaberidze's silent classic My Grandmother to contemporary works by award-winning filmmakers including Nana Ekvtimishvili and Otar Iosseliani, Georgian cinema will enjoy a special status at Spain's Valladolid International Film Festival opening this Saturday.
Filmmaker Levan Akin, director of the award-winning feature And Then We Danced, is among film professionals invited to become the latest members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, receiving the honour from the prestigious American organisation for his directorial work.
Film director Levan Akin, recipient of awards from international festivals for his feature And Then We Danced, has revealed he is working on a new film project, with shootings set to be held in Turkey and Georgia.
An award-winning animated biography of Rezo Gabriadze, celebrated Georgian theatre and cinema director, is among 32 works submitted for nomination for the next Academy Award.
A national panel of film professionals has selected director Levan Koguashvili's Tribeca Film Festival award-winning Brighton 4th as Georgia's contender for the next Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.