Crossing Istanbul

No-nonsense Lia, a retired teacher, turns up on the doorstep of affable aimless Achi, who lives in a Georgian backwater. Lia is trying to build bridges with her niece Tekla, a twenty-something trans woman who was regretfully banished years before. Achi remembers his neighbour and believes she has crossed the border. Spying an opportunity for escape, he offers to help Lia in her search. With a half-baked plan and only a little money, tracking down Tekla sparks some soul-searching within them both, while their journey attracts both suspicion and generosity. Their best ally is trans lawyer Evrim, who works in an LGBTQIA+ centre, fighting for trans rights in an environment that forces many into survival sex work. The result is a compelling, character-driven drama and a superb follow-up to Akin’s lauded 2019 queer coming-of-age feature And Then We Danced.