TURKISH DELIGHT

CROSSING Levan Akin's 'odd couple' story finds community and empathy in Istanbul...

- JAMES MOTTRAM

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.’