Directed by Dea Kulumbegashvili | 134 mins | 2024
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Venice, Kulumbegashvili’s follow-up to her acclaimed debut feature "Beginning" is anchored by Ia Sukhitashvili’s powerhouse performance as Nina, an obstetrician in rural Georgia whose history of discreetly providing abortions is threatened with exposure by an accusation of malpractice. With its precisely calibrated long takes that practically vibrate with tension, "April" invents a startlingly original audiovisual vocabulary to convey its visceral narrative of repression and resistance.