And Then We Danced (2019)
And Then We Danced arrived in 2019 against a backdrop of real political tension. When the film screened at the Tbilisi Film Festival, far-right and nationalist groups organised protests outside cinemas, with some screenings requiring police protection. That reception said rather a lot about the territory the film was moving through: Georgia, a country where the Orthodox Church wields considerable social authority and where LGBTQ rights remain a fraught and often dangerous subject. The film is a French, Georgian, and Swedish co-production, a combination that reflects both the practical realities of funding European arthouse cinema and the particular sensitivity of getting a story like this made at all in or around Georgia. It went on to become Sweden's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, which gave it a modest but meaningful platform beyond the festival circuit.
Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin had spent most of his career working in Swedish television and smaller features, including the coming-of-age drama The Dance (2014), so And Then We Danced represented a genuine step up in ambition and profile. The script is his own, and it centres on the world of the National Georgian Ensemble, a real institution whose performance traditions carry a weight of cultural identity that the film takes seriously rather than using as mere backdrop. It is the kind of subject that could easily tip into either polished travelogue or heavy-handed allegory, and the fact that it mostly avoids both owes a good deal to Akin's restraint. For a point of comparison on how international co-productions can shape the texture of a story rooted in a very specific place and culture, it is worth looking at City of the Sun (2017), another Georgia-adjacent production that wrestles with tradition and community in its own quieter way.
The cast is largely made up of non-professional or theatre-trained Georgian performers, which gives the film an unforced authenticity that more polished productions sometimes struggle to manufacture. Levan Gelbakhiani, who plays the central character Merab, was primarily a dancer rather than a screen actor before this, and that background is entirely visible on screen, not just in the movement sequences but in the physical expressiveness he brings to quieter moments. Bachi Valishvili as the new arrival Irakli carries an easy, unsettling confidence that makes the rivalry between the two characters feel credible from the first shared scene. The supporting cast, including Ana Javakishvili as Merab's long-standing dance partner Mary, fill out the ensemble world without feeling like furniture. Anyone who has appreciated similarly intimate character work in Utama (2022) or the slow-burn relational dynamics of Memoria (2021) will recognise the careful register Akin is aiming for here: human and specific, without grand gestures.
Levan Akin’s 2019 Georgian LGBTQ drama And Then We Danced is a genuinely charming film that tackles some incredibly heavy cultural themes with a lot of heart. The story follows Merab (played brilliantly by Levan Gelbakhiani), a dedicated traditional dancer who feels his hard-earned place in the national ensemble is threatened when a remarkably talented new male dancer, Irakli (Bachi Valishvili), joins the troupe.
What starts as a fierce, competitive rivalry quickly blossoms into a deep, undeniable romantic attraction between the two young men, setting the stage for a beautiful, tender exploration of first love (which is handled much better than it's peers like Call Me By Your Name).
What really elevates the picture is how Akin cleverly uses the art of traditional Georgian dance as a metaphor for the country's rigid social norms. The classical routines are famously strict, heavily gendered, and often described by the older generation as "loveless," which creates a perfect, striking visual clash when juxtaposed against the fluid, romantic backdrop of Merab and Irakli’s relationship. It’s a brilliant cinematic choice that highlights the tension between Georgia’s deeply conservative past (and its present realities) and the desperate, beating heart of a younger generation challenging the status quo for a more inclusive, accepting future.
The film is incredibly strong in its first half, populated by wonderfully likeable characters and a palpable, electric chemistry between the leads. I will admit that the writing wanes just a touch in the second act, losing a bit of that initial narrative momentum as it navigates the external pressures and dangers of their hidden romance in a deeply traditional society. However, Akin brings it all back together for a deeply satisfying and emotionally resonant finale that thoroughly earns its emotional payoff.
And Then We Danced is a vibrant, courageous, and ultimately uplifting piece of cinema that dances beautifully on the razor's edge between tradition and liberation.
And Then We Danced sits comfortably in a tradition of European arthouse cinema that uses highly codified, tradition-bound worlds, whether the stage, the church, or the sporting arena, as a lens for examining what societies ask their young people to suppress or sacrifice. It is a film that earned its controversy honestly, made with genuine care for its subject and its setting, and it introduced Levan Gelbakhiani as a screen presence well worth watching in whatever comes next. At 113 minutes it does not outstay its welcome, even where it occasionally loses its footing. Some films dance around their subject; this one, to its credit, mostly commits to the floor.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2019 | Watched: 2026-06-21
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for And Then We Danced (2019) on YouTube
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