- I got the idea when I saw news clips from when some young people in Georgia tried to organize a pride parade in 2013 and were attacked by a "mob" of thousands of people. The news clips were rolled out while I was working on my previous film Cirkeln and got stuck with me. Then I decided that I should do something about this, Levan Akin tells the Culture News after the first screening of the film.

The film is about young Merab who comes from a family of dancers who are struggling to get the economy together. Merab has trained hard all his life to get a place in the Georgian main company, but his life takes an unexpected turn when he gets feelings for the newcomer dancer Irakli, who also becomes his biggest competitor in the fight for the place in the main company.

Describes identity-seeking through dance

And then we danced depicts both the search for an identity and the social fabric of Georgia while traditional Georgian dance is always at the center.

- It symbolizes tradition, Georgian strength and culture. Georgia is a country that has been conquered many times by different cultures and the influences still exist and the dances look different in different regions, says Levan Akin, adding:

- I think this structural that is clearly in the film is a reaction to not wanting to change. To maintain its cultural identity and refine it over time. But also distort it. For many of the dances, the companies have been changed and re-cast. They have become a little tougher and tougher than they were initially.

Anonymous choreographer

Levan Akin has previously directed two feature films in Swedish, among others the feature film Cirkeln (2015). Now the story brought him to his Georgian roots. But the film revolves around a love story between two men turned out to create challenges in working with the film in Georgia.

- Practically, it was very difficult to find dancers and a choreographer who wanted to help us. Unfortunately, the choreographer is anonymous and it is a real pity that it should be so. He can't go out with his name because then there will be reprisals.