Patriarchate says screening of ‘And Then We Danced’ is attack on Church
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Thursday, November 7
The Interior Ministry says that during the screening of ‘And Then We Danced,’ they will ensure both public safety and order, as well as freedom of expression for all individuals, who express their views in the scope of the law.
According to them, one of the tasks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is to protect human rights and freedoms, regardless of their sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, political views, etc.
"We urge everyone to behave in the scope of the law. Otherwise, the police will act within their mandate and any violations will be immediately suppressed," the statement of the ministry reads.
Levan Vasadze and other leaders of homophobic groups, Guram Palavandishvili and Dimitri Lortkipanidze, like the Georgian march, threaten to disrupt the screening of ‘And Then We Danced.’
Guram Palavandishvili, who calls himself the chairman of the Society for the Protection of Children's Rights, says that if the police "prevent" them from interrupting the session, he will go against them.
The film is also unacceptable for the Patriarchate. In their view, the film's premiere is "a great attack on the church and national values."
The Patriarchate says that some people are deeply concerned about the authority of the Church, the love of the population for God and traditional values, and the various methods are being used to shake it. They say it is all about changing people's views and losing their identity.
In addition, the patriarchate thinks that the screening of the film was planned after the meeting of the Holy Synod. They said in a statement that "it is not an accident" that the screening of the film is being held after the events of the Synod meeting.
However, the information about the premiere of the film was made public 4 days before the meeting of the Holy Synod, on October 27. People were able to buy tickets on October 30, the day before the meeting.
The Patriarchate, however, says that they are against all kinds of violence.
Basin Iasagashvili, the priest of the Khareba Church, calls on the government and media to help them to disrupt the screening.
During a press conference held by the priest, he noted that “the purpose of this film is to create a passion for same-sex people”, and everyone who watches it will become like them.
This is not the first-time homophobic groups have threatened physical confrontation with the police. The same calls were heard in the period before May 17 and Tbilisi Pride.
The film will be screened in Tbilisi and Batumi cinemas from November 8 to 10.
‘And Then We Danced’ was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and was also selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.
The film has already won the Grand Prix, the Best Film and Best Actor award at the 10th Odessa International Film Festival in July. In August, Levan Gelbakhiani won the Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actor at the 25th Sarajevo Film Festival and in October, the film won the Best Feature Film Award at the 2019 Iris Prize Festival.
