CROSSING

Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Levan Akin Fotografia / Photography: Lisabi Fridell Montaggio / Editing: Levan Akin, Emma Lagrelius Suono / Sound: Anne Gry Friis Kristensen, Sigrid DPA Jensen Scenografia / Set Designer: Roger Rosenberg Costumi / Costume Designer: Linn Eklund Interpreti / Cast: Mzia Arabuli, Lucas Kankava, Deniz Dumanl Produzione / Produced by: French Quarter Film, Adomeit Film, Easy Riders Films, Bir Film, 1991 Productions Coproduzione / Co-produced by: RMV Film, Sveriges television Con il sostegno di / Supported by: The Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, The Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Aide aux cinémas du monde – CNC – Institut Français, Région Ilede- France, Enterprise Georgia & Film in Georgia, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: Totem Films Distribuzione per l’Italia / Distributed in Italy by: Lucky Red

Lia, a retired teacher living in Georgia, made a promise to find out what happened to her long lost niece Tekla. When Lia learns from Achi, a neighbour, that Tekla might be living in Turkey, they set off together to find her. In Istanbul they discover a beautiful city full of connections and possibilities—but looking for someone who never intended to be found is harder than they thought. Until they meet Evrim, a lawyer fighting for trans rights. As Lia and Achi weave their way through the city’s backstreets, Tekla starts to feel closer than ever. Crossing was the opening film of the “Panorama” section at the Berlinale 2024.

“With Crossing I set out to make a film about solidarity and finding the small gestures of kindness and understanding between strangers and family alike. I also wanted to show rooms and places that are rarely explored in stories from the region. The film is based on a true story I was told whilst researching And Then We Danced, about a grandmother traveling from Georgia to Turkey in search of her trans granddaughter. Just like with my previous film, making Crossing was very challenging. The existence of LGBTQ+ people in Georgia and Turkey is under large pressure and Turkey’s president Erdoğan ran most of his recent presidential campaign around anti-LGBTQ+ rhetorics… I drew a lot from my own experiences, asking myself if my grandparents were living today, would they accept me for who I am? Probably not—but in showing these examples of acceptance I hope to inspire new ways forward.” (L. Akin)

Levan Akin
Levan Akin (1979) is a Swedish born filmmaker of Georgian descent and his work often plays on class and gender. And Then We Danced, his first Georgian language feature, premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes 2019. Also presented at the Trieste FF in 2020, the film was selected as Sweden’s official nominee for the Oscars. He has directed several TV series and, additionally, he served as a co-executive producer and director for AMC’s adaptation of Interview with the Vampire (2022). After its premiere at the Berlinale, Crossing was presented in the official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival.

filmografia scelta / selected filmography
2011 Katinkas kalas (Certain People) 2015 Cirkeln (The Circle) 2019 And Then We Danced; Premi / Awards: Sarajevo FF – Miglior attore / Best Actor 2021 Deg (Dough) serie TV / TV Series 2022 Interview with the Vampire serie TV / TV Series 2024 Interview with the Vampire S2 serie TV / TV Series; Crossing; Premi / Awards: Berlinale “Panorama” – Premio del pubblico (secondo posto), Premio della giuria nei Teddy Award / Audience Award (2nd place), Jury Award in the Teddy Awards