Borrowing the title from an Audre Lorde poem, filmmaker Ketevan Kapanadze's debut film captures the palpable intimacy forged by a group of female and non-binary friends in Kutaisi, Georgia. Without referring to any specific incident of violence or hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community, the provincial surroundings are clearly not welcoming to all. Exclusion happens on the streets and often within families here, so these friends must create their own safe spaces. Inside, at house parties or in the canteen of the town's female football club, they are free to touch, talk and fully be themselves. On crowded couches and in smoke-filled living rooms, they navigate new relationships, parent their kids and share their worries about working abroad. Kapanadze's camera skims the walls of a protective bubble, allowing each scene to brim with the acceptance only they can offer one another. A time capsule of a precious space, How the Room Felt offers an atmospheric peek into chosen community. Myrocia Watamaniuk