And Then We Danced is cathartic, topical, and ultimately optimistic in spite of itself.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 20, 2023

A well-crafted, well-acted coming-of-age movie...

| May 18, 2022

The real magic trick Akin manages to pull off is making a film so rooted in a very specific culture – not just Georgian culture, but their culture of dance – feel universal.

| Original Score: 8/10 | May 13, 2022

The last sequence is truly hypnotic. [Full review in Spanish]

| Oct 13, 2021

Gelbakhiani, a dancer with no previous acting experience, is sensational as the young gay man discovering himself, overjoyed at finding love while dancing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 30, 2021

A skilfully authentic experience, with a boy's sexual awakening projected against the hostile machismo of an artform that would be synonymous with tolerance elsewhere.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2021

Merab's performance is a testament to the things that queer dance and movement can do: a camp revision of national traditions, a defiance of authority, an exorcism of pain, and a leap into a future that is both uncertain and exhilarating.

| Jul 13, 2021

It thrums with a barely repressed tension that had me on edge from start to finish

| Jul 2, 2021

And Then We Danced doesn't simply yearn for a world that is "accepting" or "tolerant" of queer people-it dares for the world to see us for everything we are regardless of the hatred and violence that is thrown at us, especially globally.

| Jun 23, 2021

It's tremendously moving stuff, and masterfully managed by Akin.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 17, 2021

And Then We Danced has a certain unique flavor to it, despite its wholly predictable story beats, which stay close to the tried-and-tested depiction of guilt-edged attraction.

| Jun 5, 2021

Georgian director Levan Akin's And Then We Danced is a gorgeous film that depicts the journey of finding yourself through the beauty of movement and the human body.

| Jan 26, 2021

Even when it's treating us more than strictly surprising us, it's shot through with luscious visual texture.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 28, 2020

What [director Levan Akin] easily tries and achieves is pitting oppressive rigidity against socially silenced minorities' joyous self-confidence. [Full review in Spanish]

| Nov 16, 2020

The concept of falling in love for the first time -- and facing any fears because of it -- is a universal theme that will strike a chord with mature, open-minded people of any sexual orientation.

| Jul 14, 2020

It's [in] the intimate moments ... when And Then We Danced is at its best; full of sensuality and endless possibilities.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 8, 2020

Easy to watch and difficult to ignore.

| Original Score: 4.0/5 | Jun 3, 2020

It's not too early to say that the most heartbreaking performance of the new year comes from Levan Gelbakhiani as Merab.

| May 22, 2020

An honestly told story about identity, self-discovery and sexual awakening, led by a naturally warm lead performance.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 27, 2020

'And Then We Danced' is a superb drama, and a big-hearted exploration of one young man's desire for escape and liberation."

| Original Score: A- | Apr 11, 2020