In front of the cinema Amirani in the capital Tbilisi, hundreds of Georgians gathered to protest. They shouted "Long live Georgia" and "Shame!" The cinema had been searched by police dogs earlier in the day and only those who bought the ticket in advance were admitted to tonight's premiere.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Georgia, but it was first decriminalized in 2000. Nationalist forces in Georgia have called the movie "sodomy propaganda".

- They cannot threaten cinema visitors in this way, you have to say, director Levan Akin previously told Dagens Nyheter.

The text is updated.