Far-Right Protests Mar Premiere of Gay Georgian Film

Georgian Police at the film’s premiere (Wikimedia Commons)

Far-right protesters disrupted the premiere of a gay-themed Swedish-Georgian film on November 8. Several hundred anti-gay activists gathered in Tblisi, joined by Orthodox priests chanting prayers as they burned gay pride flags and shouted “Long live Georgia!” According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, police took 11 protesters into custody for civil disobedience.

The Swedish-produced movie “And Then We Danced” depicts a tender romance between two men in Georgia’s national ballet ensemble. Although the film premiered to high acclaim in Sweden, where critics recently chose it to represent Sweden’s nomination at the 2020 Academy Awards, its reception in Georgia has been far less positive. 

Georgia’s tradition of Orthodox Christianity, like that of most of Eastern Europe and Russia, espouses intense homophobia: the Georgia Orthodox Church went so far as to denounce the film, citing its disruption of Georgian and Christian values. A World Values Survey in 2014 identified Georgia as one of the most homophobic nations surveyed, with 86.6% of Georgians expressing discomfort with the idea of having a gay or lesbian neighbor. 

Far-right activists have capitalized on Georgia’s homophobia by allying themselves with the Georgian Orthodox Church. These activists have pushed an agenda of xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, garnering support among discontented Georgians.

Georgian homophobia and far-right protests, however, were not enough to stop attendees from flocking to theaters to watch the groundbreaking film, with tickets selling out within minutes of becoming available online. Indeed, small but vocal support of the movie in Georgia may demonstrate the rise of a more progressive, liberal movement, largely consisting of Georgia’s counterculture youth. 

Although the Georgian counterculture has experienced increasing popularity—marked by young people spending their nights at clubs and sporting piercings and dyed hair—the government largely opposes the movement, and has shut down nightclubs popular among the movement for alleged drug activity. This split is indicative of the rising political tensions that define Georgia, with the pro-Russia far right set opposite young progressives.

Despite the protests and government disapproval, LGBT activists maintained hope that “And Then We Danced” would help to dispel Georgia’s taboo around homosexuality. 

“Even if you block the cinema, there is Internet,” Tbilisi Pride organizer Giorgi Tabagari said. “The whole country is going to watch this.”