Akin is probably best known for his previous film, And Then We Danced (2019), about a student at a Georgian dance school who falls in love with his male rival. While the film received critical acclaim, its release in Georgia was met with homophobic outrage and protest. Crossing similarly pursues complex themes that push up against the boundaries of older ways of thinking and navigating the world.

His latest film follows a retired teacher named Lia (Mzia Arabuli) as she attempts to fulfill her sister’s dying wish and track down her long-lost trans niece, Tekla. While asking around her hometown in Georgia, Lia enlists the help of a young neighbour, Achi (Lucas Kankava), who claims to know of Tekla and her whereabouts. The unlikely pair travel to Istanbul together. Though the differences in their ages (Soviet vs post-Soviet generations) and perspectives on life are readily apparent, their journey reveals an unexpected affinity. Just as Achi is seeking to escape his life back home, Lia’s encounters with the trans community open her up to a deeper sense of purpose than familial duty.

Lia is at a stage in her life where she no longer cares and, since the death of her sister for whom she acted as caretaker, doesn’t seem to have much to live for anymore either. In fact, given her no-nonsense attitude and tough demeanour, it’s hard to tell what kind of relationship she had with Tekla before Tekla disappeared or if the two even had one at all. At the start of the film, Lia appears driven more by a sense of obligation to her sister than genuine consideration for her niece. She behaves perfunctorily, focused strictly on checking off the next task on her list. While Achi behaves with the expected waywardness of youth, and in seeming contrast to Lia, at a certain point it becomes clear that Lia is just as adrift as her young companion.

This becomes the most powerful part of the film: the shared struggle of Achi and Lia to find meaning, purpose, and a sense of place in the world. It’s fitting, then, that the character who fills this gap in direction and momentum is Evrim (Deniz Dumanli)–a trans woman working for an NGO in Istanbul. Her presence is so captivating, unassuming-yet-effective, that you almost breathe a sigh of relief when the three finally cross paths. That’s not to say Evrim ‘saves the day,’ but her role is undeniably pivotal.

The brilliance of this film is that it feels real.

Setting out on a quest to fulfill a dying wish might sound like a fable but Crossing is not a fairy tale. In fact, the premise is based on a true story Akin heard about a grandmother traveling from Georgia to Turkey in search of her trans granddaughter. Akin also drew a lot on his own personal experience, specifically with regard to Istanbul and the way the city feels to him:

“The thing with Istanbul is that it is a place where in a very short distance you can find polar opposite worlds. One street is very religious, and if you walk down two streets it is suddenly a queer haven, where men walk holding hands. I wanted to portray this dichotomy in the film. When Lia and Achi are walking to the trans-neighborhood in the film the short distance that they walk is actually the distance in reality. Everyone lives on top of each other in Istanbul, all kinds of religions, people and not to forget the cats and dogs.”

It is important that the city portrayed in the film is not an escape from the prejudices Lia and Achi left behind. While Akin was able to find a cinema-loving policeman to get permission to shoot inside the police station, the police there are generally not an ally of the LGBTQI+ community.

In this way, Crossing doesn’t offer us a fantasy of harmony and reconciliation but, rather, something more complex and human: the simple hope of establishing common ground, some semblance of shared experience and understanding that may resonate enough to spark a change. Maybe not today but someday.

Crossing is now streaming on MUBI. Get 30 days free to watch it and hundreds more hand-picked films on MUBI at mubi.com/booooooom. You can also click here to check out the rest off our Recommended Viewings on the platform.