APRIL World Cinema

APRIL

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

Born in 1986, Dea Kulumbegashvili is a Georgian writer/director based in Tbilisi. Her debut short film INVISIBLE SPACES was nominated for a Palme d’Or du Court Métrage in 2014. Her second short film LÉTHÉ premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight section.

Esther Devos
Goodfellas
edevos@goodfellas.film

MEMBERS & PASSHOLDERS

Screenings

October 25, 12:30 p.m.

Chinese 2

October 27, 11:25 a.m.

Chinese 3

October 27, 11:25 a.m.

Chinese 3

Details

Country: Italy, France, Georgia

Year: 2024

Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili

Screenwriter: Dea Kulumbegashvili

Producers: David Zerat, Ilan Amouyal, Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Archil Gelovani

Executive Producers: Steven Darty, Adrien Dassault, Christian Vesper, Giovanni Corrado, Raffaella Viscardi

Director of Photography: Arseni Khachaturan

Editor: Jacopo Ramella Pajrin

Production Designer: Beka Tabukashvili

Costume Designers: Tornike Kirtadze, Nikoloz Guraspashvili

Music: Matthew Herbert

Cast/Featuring: Ia Sukhitashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Merab Ninidze

Running Time (minutes): 134

Language: Georgian

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