Levan Akin was born in Sweden to Georgian parents, who raised him with ties to his native roots, two vastly different cultures that have equally influenced all of the filmmaker's work. Notably, his lauded 2019 film, And Then We Danced, a queer coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of conservative Tbilisi about a traditional Georgian dance student who falls in love with his male rival.
MORE: Levan Akin on the Power of Queer Media and His Next Film 'Passage' (Exclusive)
"What was very apparent with And Then We Danced was that there really is a longing for non-Western queer stories," Akin explains. "From my vantage point, which are queer stories told from a non-Western context, I am eager to see more queer cinema from places I am not familiar with."
Below, he shares with A.frame five queer films that he loves, movies that hail from Armenia, England, Mexico, Sweden and France.
Written and Directed by: Sergei Parajanov
A great masterpiece of the 20th century. Like Parajanov while making it, this film sparked my longing to return and explore my Transcaucasian heritage. A powerful fusion of poetry and cinema.
Written and Directed by: Francis Lee
A delicate and tender story about loneliness, infatuation and endurance. The setting so tangible and vivid. God's Own Country is absolutely beautiful.
Written and Directed by: Lukas Moodysson
This movie heralded a new cinematic era when it premiered in Sweden in 1998, introducing one of our most humanist directors to the scene.
Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón | Written by: Carlos Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón
This film always breaks my heart. Its three main actors transcend the screen. Naturalism and poetry in a perfect mix.
Directed by: Robin Campillo | Written by: Robin Campillo and Philippe Mangeot
Raw and important. A vivid and therefore all the more tragic portrayal of a vital movement.