EXCLUSIVE
CROSSING Levan Akin’s ‘odd couple’ story finds community and empathy in Istanbul…
No one ever said making independent movies was easy. ‘Every time you make a movie, you’re like, “Why am I doing this? It’s horrible!”’ laughs Swedish filmmaker Levan Akin (And Then We Danced). ‘You know what I think? Making movies is like a bad plane ride. As soon as you step off the plane, you forget about it. It’s always crazy and tumultuous.’
His latest film, Crossing, was no different. The story follows Georgian schoolteacher Ms. Lia (Mzia Arabuli) and her former pupil Achi (Lucas Kankava) as they travel to Istanbul on a mission. ‘In Georgia, there’s such a gap between generations, they can’t communicate,’ says Akin, explaining why he created this mismatched pair.
‘It’s like one is speaking Chinese and one is speaking French. They can’t meet. It’s so fascinating.’
Their reason to head to Istanbul? Lia, to honour her sister’s dying wish, wants to track down her estranged transgender niece, Tekla (Tako Kurdovanidze) – a journey that sees them embed into Istanbul’s soulful trans community. Akin says he wanted to tell a story of empathy, not enmity. ‘Humans, we always want to help each other when we can. I want to show that. To me, that’s the reality. Not that other reality where people are suspicious of each other.’
Casting the film also meant bringing together two leads, Arabuli and Kankava, from very different worlds. Unsurprisingly, the off-screen dynamic mirrored what was happening on screen. ‘She was a little irritated with him in real life, too, because he has a lot of energy, and asked a lot of questions and she just wants to be le
