Heart Don't Be Afraid

Dachi is a young and lonely dreamer, a queer boy from a very conservative and religious place - Lechkhumi, in the highland of Georgia, and he dreams of leaving his hometown. The most influential person in the region is Orthodox Church Archbishop- Stephan. He sees himself as a pastor with a mission to enlighten and bring up generations as religious, obedient, and true orthodox parish. He unleashes a holy war on all other religious beliefs and moral views. Inspired by Stephan’s preaching, Dachi’s family refuses to accept their son’s sexual orientation and identity. As a schoolboy, Dachi was physically abused by his parents and by the neighbours, and he was forced to take various psychotropic drugs and go through various therapy sessions to change his sexual orientation. This «curing process» ended up in total failure, and his parents are today just ignoring his identity even if he lives in their house. The biggest suffering for Dachi is his cold and distanced relationship with his mother, who is turning all her love and attention toward his younger brother.
Together with the 84-year-old spell caster Vardo, who holds the knowledge of Georgian traditional magic, Dachi feels seen, cared for and understood, and by learning her magic techniques, he aims to use the magic to escape the daily social oppression and to create a reality where he can be himself.