Dea Kulumbegashvili’s piercing sophomore, April, set in a rural conservative Georgian village, follows Nina, an obstetrician who faces accusations following the death of a newborn under her care.

As Nina faces scrutiny from both the medical institution and a grieving father, the film paints a fierce and unflinching portrait of a woman fighting her guilt against the suffocating reality of illegal abortions and female autonomy while defying a deeply patriarchal society that attempts to silence her.

Kulumbegashvili’s uncompromising direction, coupled with her signature use of silence and sound and stark imagery, at times brutal, at times hauntingly poetic, crafts an eerie, almost primal atmosphere that forces the audience to confront the intensity of Nina’s pain and struggle, drawing them into an experience that is as unsettling as it is profound.

April marks a deepening of themes Kulumbegashvili began exploring in her debut Beginning, solidifying her status as one of contemporary cinema’s most audacious voices.

- Anu Rangachar