Swedish-Georgian feature ‘And Then We Danced’ wins Iris Prize
‘And then We Danced’ is the Swedish-Georgian co-production. Photo: And Then we Danced Facebook page.
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Swedish-Georgian co-production And Then We Danced, has won the Iris Prize Best Feature Award, which is an international LGBT film prize.
The feature is directed by Swedish filmmaker Levan Akin and featuring a cast of Georgian actors.
Produced by Mathilde Dedye and involving screenplay by Akin, And Then We Danced is one of 11 works promoted internationally by the Swedish Film Institute’s International Department.
Principal production for the 96-minute-long film began in October.
Akin's work shows Merab, a young performer in the Georgian national dance company develop an intense attraction to newcomer Irakli.
Portrayed by Levan Gelbakhiani, 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.
In the words of the director, the feature is "an exploration on discovering and owning your own truth and channelling it through expression", with Akin labelling the work his "most personal film yet".
Akin was born in Stockholm to parents who emigrated from Georgia to Sweden in the 1970s. His debut feature Certain People (2011) was nominated for the Best Film Award of the Stockholm Film Festival, with Yohanna Idha receiving the Best Actress Award for her part in the film.
The film had its international premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim, before Akin also directed The Circle (2015), which debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival.