Ketevan Kapanadze’s documentary How the Room Felt had its world premiere at IDFA in the international competition section. It centers on a group of female and non-binary LGBTQ+ people in Kutaisi, Georgia, a number of them connected by playing on the local women’s football team.
Some documentaries involve a lot of talking-head interviews, making the presence of the filmmaker, while often unseen, very much felt. Ketevan Kapanadze preferred to limit the overtness of her presence by choosing to use less footage where the subjects engaged directly with the camera, preferring the lens to be an observer of their life. This gave the documentary a sense of impartiality even though by the nature of pursuing the subject matter and selecting which images to use she is anything but impartial.
The two main focal subjects are Lana and Anuka. Lana is the star athlete of the team, and Anuka engages in self-sabotage. In a world where it’s a struggle to be a female athlete as exemplified in the film with a scene about how only some of them will be paid, in a country that is not LGBTQ+ friendly, they have found a space to express themselves freely. Often in the way young people who are repressed by society at large do once they have found their peers – by partying it up with one another and spouting their philosophical beliefs while drunk and/or high. Kapandze’s camera captures their humanity. Though Anuka, in one of her philosophical moments, may object. The camera constantly pushes in, catching their loud joy, and their quiet sorrow.
It isn’t until over a third of the film, when Anaro speaks about her coming out and subsequent exile from her family, that there is a whiff of talking head interview. After that, we start to get a little more of the outside world press into their world. Most overtly, when a protest against LGBTQ+ people reigns out on the streets and they have to confront double standards they’ve faced with regards to policing.
Anuka who right from the start of the film is scene engaging in behavior she knows doesn’t benefit her, being late to practice, drinking before a game, etc., keeps engaging in such behaviour even as she struggles on the field of a sport you know she must love. One she must love so much that the audience can presume she’s playing despite not making any money (because it was stated that the best players would get double pay like Lana and those that weren’t contributing got zero pay). She is her own worst enemy and she knows it. She wants to feel pain. The reason why she wants to is never fully explored, and the unanswered why just makes her more relatable as she spends the rest of her time trying to eke out as much joy from life as she can.
The film ends on what appears to be a New Year’s celebration, fireworks and all, and Anaro expresses a sentiment about how even though Georgia and the World won’t change, they can take care of each other better. This film, so much about queer love and friendship, is also a call to be kind to ourselves because the world isn’t always so we have to. It’s also a little love letter to found family. The people that you can go and be your true messy authentic self with.