Crossing
November 4, 2024 2:00 PM
From acclaimed director Levan Akin (And Then We Danced), CROSSING is a moving and tender tale of identity, acceptance and unlikely connection that transcends borders and generations. Lia, a retired school teacher living in Georgia, hears from a young neighbor Achi that her long lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Turkey. Hoping to bring Tekla home after a period of estrangement, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Akin's third feature is a heartfelt portrayal of overcoming the degrees of separation that divide us.
105 min Turkish and English subtitles
Season Sponsor: Rastins PharmaChoice
Film Date Sponsor: MacKay Brehm & Smith, Professional Corporation
Proceeds to the Hamilton Out of the Cold
Winner Jury Award and 2nd place Audience Award: Berlin International Film Festival
Winner Jury Award: Guadalajara International Film Festival
Winner Feature Film: Sofia Pride Film Festival
Crossing is terrific: a rich and rewarding tapestry of characters and cultures flung together and flourishing. Wendy Ide/The Observer (UK)
Akin’s approach feels so tied to novel-writing — with shifts in perspectives and at least one plot-twisting formal deceit that whiplashes you only to leave you breathless and a bit swoony — and yet the axis around which his universe orbits is entirely cinematic, and universal. Ryan Lattanzio/Indiewire
Sweet without being cloying, it’s a love letter to the commonalities between Georgian and Turkish culture; one that encourages empathy and reminds us it’s never too late to change for the better. Hannah Strong/Little White Lies
Another film would make this Istanbul of sex workers and street kids the stage for something brutal and didactic. Akin gives even the shabbiest address the hint of a picture book, and matches every sadness with optimism. Danny Leigh/Financial Times
