APRIL World Cinema

Following her critically acclaimed debut BEGINNING, Déa Kulumbegashvili reteams with lead actress Ia Sukhitashvili in this visceral, uncompromising manifestation of womanhood. Set in the Orthodox Christian-dominated communities of rural Georgia, where abortions are technically legal up to 12 weeks but so culturally and politically taboo that the practice is drastically curbed, OB-GYN Nina (Sukhitashvili) moonlights as a clandestine abortionist for the local disenfranchised women. A stillbirth during her day job – presented in its stark, explicit reality in the opening moments – sets off a series of inquiries threatening the preservation of her work. Unfolding with the heightened, primal tension of a psychological thriller, APRIL contends with abject violence on female bodies through an immersive and disquieting landscape – a monstrous figure looms, and a raging hailstorm thunders with the unnerving roar of mother nature. Produced by Luca Guadagnino and premiering at the Venice Film Festival, Kulumbegashvili’s sophomore effort confirms her as one of the most formally exciting auteurs to watch. –Anna Li