Crossing - Sweden

Lia, a retired teacher, made a promise to find out what happened to her long-lost niece, Tekla. When she learns from Achi, a neighbour, that the niece might be living in Turkey, the pair set off to find her. In Istanbul, they discover a beautiful city full of connections and possibilities, but tracing someone who has no intention of being found proves harder than they thought – until they meet Evrim, a trans-rights lawyer. As Lia and Achi weave their way through the city’s backstreets, they feel closer than ever to Tekla. 

Crossing is an emotional journey that takes us from the poorer areas of the Georgian town of Batumi on the Black Sea coast to the trans community in pulsating Istanbul. Retired teacher Lia embarks on a quest for Tekla, the long-lost niece she promised her late sister she would find. Along comes teenager Achi, who sees an opportunity to escape a life without hope and lies to Lia about speaking Turkish and knowing Tekla’s whereabouts in the melting pot of Istanbul. When they finally arrive in the Turkish metropolis, they find themselves far from the tourist hotspots and blue mosques, in a seldom depicted and often excluded community in which the struggle to be who you are never ends. Exposed to new people and experiences, the journey also becomes an inward one for them.  

Lisabi Fridell’s rich and intimate camera work accompanies the characters with complete and tender solidarity as they evolve while navigating a world where dreams and crass reality collide.  

Crossing is a complex and humanising exploration of all of its characters, and the close bond between the director and his actors creates a sense of presence that reverberates through the audience. Despite the rancorous debate around trans issues, Akin manages to tell a story about the need in all of us to dream and belong, and he does so with humour, empathy and great warmth. To top it all, the devastating closing scene is as cinematically challenging as it is demanding. 

Levan Akin, a Swedish filmmaker of Georgian descent, explores class, gender and sexuality. His body of work includes the critically acclaimed film And Then We Danced, which premiered at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes 2019 and was selected as Sweden’s official entry for the Oscars. Akin has also made notable contributions to television, including the series Real Humans (adapted as Humans for AMC in the US and UK). He was also a co-executive producer and director of AMC’s highly regarded adaptation of Interview with the Vampire (2022). Crossing is Akin’s latest film. It premiered at Berlinale in 2024.

Mathilde Dedye and director Mattias Sandström founded French Quarter Film in 2011. The award-winning Swedish indie label makes author-driven films, probably best described as “European art house”. It also produces films in multiple formats and works with some of the most interesting directors in Sweden. 

Dedye opened the Berlinale Panorama Section 2024 with her latest feature, Crossing, by Levan Akin. She has also produced And Then We Danced by Levan Akin, which premiered at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes in 2019 and The Reunion by Anna Odell, which premiered at the Venice Critics' Week that year. She has also produced two successful comedy series for Swedish Television’s streaming service.

Original title: Passage 

International title: Crossing 

Director: Levan Akin 

Screenwriter: Levan Akin 

Producer: Mathilde Dedye 

Production company: French Quarter Film 

Distribution companies: Triart Film, Reel Pictures, Mer Film; Cinema Mondo 

Premiere in home country: 16.03.24 

Length: 105 minutes.