April

April

Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
Country: Georgia, France, Italy

2024 | 134 min. | Georgian
Subtitles: German, English
FSK | Nicht geprüft / No clearance

Cast_ Ia Sukhitashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Merab Ninidze, Roza Kancheishvili, Ana Nikolava Screenplay_ Dea Kulumbegashvili Camera_ Arseni Khachaturan Producer_ Luca Guadagnino, Ilan Amouyal, David Zerat, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Archil Gelovani, Gabriele Moratti, Alexandra Rossi Rights_ Goodfellas

Just like Nina, the protagonist of this cinematic tour de force, we the viewers are almost left breathless – in amazement and disbelief at the film’s sheer feminist radicalism and beauty.

Nina is an obstetrician in a small clinic somewhere in eastern Georgia near the Caucasus. Time and again, she struggles with the impositions of life. Only her profession gives her stability and meaning; everything else comes second, to the point of self-sacrifice. Following a tragic death, however, not only her work at the hospital is investigated, but also her activities in the surrounding farming villages. The investigation puts her professional future – indeed her entire existence – in jeopardy. But Nina has sworn an oath, and there’s no way she’s going to break it. Not for anything in the world.

›April‹’s emotional intensity and cinematographic beauty almost defy description. The extremely dense atmosphere, impressive images, sensual textures, and powerful sounds make Dea Kulumbegashvili’s second creation as a director an unforgettable Gesamtkunstwerk. Taking its audience to new limits, it is already an imposing landmark in film history.

Director

Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili studied film at Columbia University. After two successful short films, she set a first big exclamation mark in 2021 with ›Beginning‹, her debut feature. At the San Sebastián Film Festival, the film won the top prize along with three other awards, and was nominated for the European Film Award and shown at the IFFMH that same year. ›April‹ is her second feature and won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival this year.

Screenings