Skip to main content
Crossing film image; older women dances in a crowd

Crossing

This event has passed

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 Achi set off together to find her. Arriving in Istanbul, they discover a beautiful city full of connections and possibilities. But 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.

Emotionally rich, deeply humane and politically resonant […] Akin creates a beautifully poetic sense of place… Long weaving shots lead us through the uneven, cat-filled streets and cramped corridors of the city, where the ezan is called out from mosques and homeless kids try to hustle a few lira from passers-by. Akin offers a moving portrayal of the bonds that can form between people who, on the surface at least, have little in common. In the rooming houses of Istanbul’s red-light district, where women shout down from the windows and camaraderie unites them through the walls, the director explores alternative means of belonging. The beating heart and hope of Crossing lies ultimately with collective activism rather than with family.

Carmen Grey, Sight & Sound

Warmly humanistic… This novelistic drama takes time to connect its central triangle but does so with a suppleness and restraint that amplify the emotional rewards.

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Dumanli, making her screen feature debut here, is a pure joy to watch, enveloping the movie in a sense of warm coziness and safety as, just being in her presence, you feel like everything will somehow work out. But that doesn’t mean Crossing holds back on pungent, tough truths.

Ryan Lattanzio, Indiewire

Breathes hope and joy… Part road movie, part mystery, Crossing pulls you in with engaging plot beats but unfolds with an unhurried grace that never cheapens the endeavor.

Robert Daniels, rogerebert.com

Director

Levan Akin

Cast

Mzia Arabuli, Lucas Kankava, Deniz Dumanli

Credits
Country of Origin

Sweden/Denmark/France/
Turkey/Georgia

Year

2024

Language

In Georgian and Turkish with English subtitles

19+
106 min

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits

Screenwriter

Levan Akin

Cinematography

Lisabi Fridell

Editor

Levan Akin, Emma Lagrelius

Also Playing

Vulcanizadora

Dir. Joel Potrykus
85 min

In Joel Potrykus's singular, edgy comedy, two old friends venture into the woods to let off some fireworks and... other things.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Dir. John Cameron Mitchell
123 min

Released in 2001, John Cameron Mitchell's flamboyant rock musical about a gender-queer punk rock singer from East Berlin pushed the boundaries of queer cinema. It's both heartbreaking and empowering. Screening with the short The Human Voice.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The True Story of Tamara De Lempicka & The Art of Survival

Dir. Julie Rubio
96 min

If Art Deco had a face, it was surely Tamara De Lempicka, giving us the side-eye at the wheel of a green Bugati in her famous self-portrait. Rubio's invaluable doc teases out the truths behind the myths, shedding light on De Lempicka's still underrated art.

Image: © 2024 TAMARA DE LEMPICKA ESTATE, LLC ADAGP, PARIS ARS, NY

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Magic Farm

Dir. Amalia Ulman
93 min

In Amalia Ulman's playful slow burner, a Vice-like camera crew wash up in a sleepy South American village and cook up a story that isn't there with the help of cynical locals eager to take the gringos for every cent.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre