Levan Akin | |
---|---|
![]() Levan Akin at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in 2024 | |
Born | |
Occupation(s) | film director screenwriter |
Levan Akin (born 14 December 1979) is a Swedish film director and screenwriter, best known for his film And Then We Danced , [1] [2] that received critical acclaim and won the 2019 Guldbagge Award for Best Film. [3]
Levan Akin was born and raised in Tumba, Sweden. [4] [5] His parents, of Georgian origin, had moved to Sweden in the 1960s, when Georgia was one of the republics of the Soviet Union. [6] Levan Akin returns to Georgia every year with his sister for the summer holidays. [4] There he consolidates his knowledge of Georgian culture and the practice of the Georgian language. [7] He is openly gay. [8]
Levan Akin started out as an assistant director in film productions, mainly at Sveriges Television. He worked at Studio 24 for the production of You, the Living (Du Levande) by Roy Andersson (2007).
In 2008, he won two awards at the Hamburg Film Festival alongside film designer and producer Erika Stark for the short film De sista sakerna (2008). [9] Levan Akin then directed series such as Second Avenue (Andra Avenyn, 2008–2010), Livet i Fagervik (2009), Anno 1790 (2011) and Real Humans (Äkta människor, 2012) for the television channel Sveriges Television.
In autumn 2011, his first feature film Katinkas kalas, premiered at the Stockholm International Film Festival. The scenario was based on the inner tensions of a group of young people celebrating a birthday on a summer night. Three of the cast, mostly not known to the wider public, received nominations for the L'Oréal Paris Rising Star award, [10] and Yohanna Idha was nominated for 2013 Guldbagge Award as Best Supporting Actress. [11]
In 2019, Levan Akin's second film And Then We Danced was released to critical acclaim. [12] [13] It was premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival [14] [15] where it received a fifteen-minute standing ovation. [16] Set in Georgia, the film follows Merab, a student from a Georgian traditional dance school who falls in love with his male rival. The Georgian Orthodox Church officially expressed its disapproval of the promotion and screening of the film, and the release of the film in November 2019 caused riots in Tbilisi and Batumi. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
In June 2020, Levan Akin was selected as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [22]
In 2024, Akin's third film Crossing is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. [23] [24]
Arne Edvard Sucksdorff was a Swedish film director, considered one of cinema's greatest documentary filmmakers. He was particularly celebrated for his visually poetic and scenic nature documentaries. His works include Pojken i trädet and the Academy Award-winning Människor i Stad.
Per Henrik Schyffert is a Swedish comedian, actor, musician and radio and television personality.
Karl David Sebastian Dencik is a Swedish-Danish actor. He has acted in both Swedish and Danish films, and has also had major roles in English-language films and series including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Top of the Lake (2017), McMafia (2018), Chernobyl (2019), and the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021).
The Swedish Film Institute (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Founded in 1963, the institute is responsible for administering the annual Guldbagge Awards, and for managing the Swedish Film Database. Notable CEOs of the institute include founder-director Harry Schein and Anna Serner (2011–2021). Serner is known for creating an initiative which aimed for gender parity in the film industry. Since mid-April 2024 the CEO is Anna Croneman.
Mezipatra is a Czech queer film festival screening films with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes. The name Mezipatra translates as "mezzanine" and refers to the festival's mission: creating space for meeting of people regardless of their gender or sexual identities. Each edition explores a chosen theme and hosts a variety of international guests. The accompanying events range from lectures and debates to art openings, theatre performances as well as exciting parties. It takes place annually in November in Prague and Brno with related events in Ostrava, Olomouc and other cities in Czech Republic. Throughout the year Mezipatra offers additional screenings within the Mezipatra Approved edition. Mezipatra also participates in Prague Pride festival by organizing screenings and debates with LGBT themes.
Noémie Lvovsky is a French film director, screenwriter, and actress.
The Guldbagge for Best Film is a Swedish film award presented annually by the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) as part of the Guldbagge Awards to the best Swedish motion picture of the year.
Johan Kling is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, and novelist. His debut movie, Darling (2007), received numerous nominations and won several awards.
Hafsia Herzi is a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She is best known for her debut role in the award-winning Franco-Tunisian feature The Secret of the Grain for which she won the award for most promising actress at the César Awards 2008, and the Marcello Mastroianni award, for best emerging actor/actress at the 64th Venice International Film Festival.
Alicia Amanda Vikander is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film Awards. She is best known globally for playing the British heroine Lara Croft in the 2018 reboot Tomb Raider.
Merab Ninidze is a Georgian actor. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for the roles of Walter Redlich in Nowhere in Africa and Oleg Penkovsky in The Courier.
The Guldbagge for Best Actress in a Leading Role is a Swedish film award presented annually by the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) as part of the Guldbagge Awards to actresses working in the Swedish motion picture industry.
The Guldbagge for Best Screenplay is a Swedish film award presented annually by the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) as part of the Guldbagge Awards to screenwriters working in the Swedish motion picture industry.
Magnus von Horn,, is a Swedish-Polish film director and screenwriter. He graduated from the National Film School in Łódź in 2013. A few months after he arrived in Poland he was brutally robbed, which resulted in him becoming interested in violent people. His first film was a short documentary about a young Polish criminal. His 2011 short film Without Snow was nominated for the Guldbagge Award for Best Short Film. His debut feature, The Here After, premiered in the Directors' Fortnight of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
The Here After is a 2015 Swedish drama film written and directed by Magnus von Horn, about a boy returning home after serving time in prison, only to find that the local community has not forgotten or forgiven his crime. The film is a co-production between Sweden, Poland and France. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film won the Guldbagge Award for Best Film, Best Director for Magnus von Horn and Best Supporting Actor for Mats Blomgren at the 51st Guldbagge Awards.
The Guldbagge Honorary Award, instituted in 2000 for the 36th Guldbagge Awards, is a Lifetime achievement Award presented annually by the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) as part of the Guldbagge Awards to people working in the Swedish motion picture industry.
And Then We Danced is a 2019 Georgian drama film directed by Levan Akin. It was premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival where it received a fifteen-minute standing ovation. It was one of the most favourably reviewed films out of Cannes that year. It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. Screening of the film in Georgia sparked protests, due to its portrayal of a gay love affair.
Amanda Kernell is a Swedish, Southern Sami director and screenwriter. She is best known for the movie Sami Blood, which won several awards.
Alexander Ally Karim, né Ally Kimbugwe Karim, is a Swedish actor and writer. His role as Frank Nordling in the Viaplay/TV3 series The Lawyer (Advokaten) earned him a Kristallen nomination for Best Actor in 2018.
Crossing is a 2024 internationally co-produced drama film written, directed and co-edited by Levan Akin. It stars Mzia Arabuli, Lucas Kankava and Deniz Dumanlı.