On the night of 13 May 2024, as Georgia’s parliament prepared to vote on the controversial Foreign Agents Law, thousands of Georgians filled the streets of Tbilisi. Protests had been building for weeks over legislation critics said was modelled on laws used by the Kremlin to suppress dissent. They became the largest anti-government demonstrations in Georgia’s recent history, with protesters confronting riot police who responded with tear gas and water cannons.
Filmmaker Vladislav Amelin documented the protests across several nights, focusing on the final night before the parliamentary vote. Sakartvelo: Dances of Freedom follows protesters through the streets of the capital as they march, sing and dance. There are no interviews, narration or explanatory voiceover. Instead, the camera moves through the crowd, observing with quiet attention and capturing the atmosphere, energy and defiance of a city in protest.
The law was ultimately passed despite a presidential veto and widespread international condemnation. For many protesters, the demonstrations were about more than a single piece of legislation. They reflected a wider struggle over Georgia’s political direction, its relationship with Russia and its aspirations towards Europe, and laid the groundwork for what came next – a fresh wave of unrest following Georgia’s contested election and withdrawal from the EU process later that year.
Sakartvelo, the Georgian name for Georgia, points to the question at the heart of the film: what does it mean to be Georgian at a moment when the country’s identity and future are being fiercely contested?
The dance continues. So does the struggle for Georgia’s future.
