CROSSING (Sweden-Turkey) "Seductive and involving." MAROOCHYDORE ONLY
Wed, 09 Oct
|Maroochydore
A retired teacher from Georgia, Lia, sets off to find her long lost niece who fled across the border to Turkey when she was young. Her unlikely companion is an opportunist neighbour Achi. When they get to Istanbul they discover a beautiful city full of connections and possibilities.
Time & Location
09 Oct 2024, 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm
Maroochydore, Sunshine Plaza Sunseeker Parade, 154-164 Horton Parade, Maroochydore QLD 4558, Australia
About the Event
CROSSING film trailer HERE
M . 105 min.
Directed by Levan Akin (And Then We Danced). Stars Mzia Arabuli, Lucas Kankava, Deniz Dumanli.
Lia, a retired teacher, has made a promise to find out what happened to her long-lost niece, Tekla. When Lia learns from a neighbour, Achi, that Tekla might have left their Georgian homeland and be living in Turkey, Lia and the opportunistic Achi set off together to find her. Arriving in Istanbul, they discover a beautiful city full of connections and possibilities. And one with hidden sides.
They discover that searching for someone who never intended to be found is harder than they expected – 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. This is an odd couple road movie and and a personal, introspective journey of reconciliation, instilled with a poetic exploration of marginalised communities abandoning a place that doesn’t accept them.
Levan Akin’s fourth feature film is filled with an impressive emotional immediacy. Two initially hesitant strangers overcome not only ideological but also internal boundaries on their mission and join forces. The topography of the city plays just as important a role in this ode to humanity as the array of characters that live within it.
Mzia Arabuli as Lia is outstanding. Akin is from Sweden but has strong Georgian roots and knows the territory from where characters like Lia and Achi are bountiful. He also unedsratnd people who are marginalised.
"It's seductive and involving." Screen Daily
"A movie about respect and dignity. Quite extraordinary." NPR Los Angeles
"Crossing is terrific: a rich and rewarding tapestry of characters and cultures flung together and flourishing." The Observer UK
WINNER Jury Prize Berlin Film Festival
2024 Sydney Film Festival
2024 Melbourne International Film Festival
Levan Akin (born 14 December 1979) is a Swedish film director and screenwriter best known for his film And Then We Danced that received critical acclaim and won the 2019 Swedish Film Award for Best Film