Police in Georgia said Saturday they had arrested more than 25 people after ultra-nationalist protesters attempting to derail the premiere of an award-winning movie about gay love clashed with security forces.

A few hundred demonstrators blocked the road outside a cinema in the capital's city center Friday ahead of the first screening of "And Then We Danced," which tells the story of two young male Georgian ballet dancers falling in love.

Chanting "Long live Georgia" and "Shame" the protesters — some holding crosses and religious icons — tried to force their way inside the cinema but where held back by riot police.