A few hundred demonstrators blocked the road outside a cinema in the capital’s city centre on Friday ahead of the first screening of “And Then We Danced“, which tells the story of two young male Georgian ballet dancers falling in love.
Two police officers and a young woman, who was trying to go watch the film, were injured, police said. But reception has been mixed in the conservative Caucasian nation where same-sex relationships remain largely taboo and dance is revered as part of the nation’s heritage. “I don’t think it is normal to have so many policemen here to save me and my friends from people who think that I should not watch a movie,” said 22-year-old Tina Iukhutashvili.Police said they detained 25 people, one for attacking the woman and 24 for hooliganism and disobeying police orders.
Georgian riot police guard the Amirani Cinema during a rally of orthodox protestors in Tbilisi, Georgia, 08 October 2019. They protest against the premiere screening of the Oscar-nominated Swedish-Georgian LGBTQ film 'And Then We Danced'. EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE