Actor Levan Gelbakhiani, feature 'And Then We Danced' sweep four prizes at Sweden's leading cinema awards
Actor Levan Gelbakhiani (pictured fifth from left) with producers and director of the feature at the awards ceremony in Stockholm. Photo via Guldbagge Awards.
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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.
Gelbakhiani, a young actor who broke through on the international scene with the premiere of the feature at the Directors’ Fortnight festival in Cannes last year, was distinguished with the Best Actor Award at the event in Stockholm.
The recognition follows similar prizes for the actor cast in the role of Merab, a dancer in a Georgian national troupe, from the Sarajevo and Valladolid film festivals as well as his selection for the European Shooting Stars list by the European Film Promotion.
Gelbakhiani was praised by the EFP jury for being "already a master of physical elegance and psychological sensitivity" at the age of 21. The panel also noted the actor's ability "to capture all the pains and pitfalls of growing up, while dazzling us with his technical prowess".
Akin's film also scooped the Best Film Award in Sweden's capital, with the director himself selected for the Best Screenplay Award and Lisabi Fridell singled out for her cinematography for the work.
In the feature Gelbakhiani's character develops romantic feelings towards Irakli, a newcomer to the conservative dance company, with the two young men pitted against prejudice surrounding them.
The Guldbagge Awards has selected Sweden's best in cinema since 1964, with 19 prizes used to pick annual winners.
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.
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.
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.
Georgia's emerging acting talent Levan Gelbakhiani is one of 10 young performers selected as this year's European Shooting Stars by the European Film Promotion and will be unveiled to the Berlin International Film Festival audience to accept the award next month.
Swedish-Georgian co-production And Then We Danced has been named among The Guardian’s top 50 best films of 2020 in the United Kingdom. "Intense, winning romance about two male performers who spark a secret relationship in the ultra-conservative world of traditional Georgian dance”, The Guardian says.