After the critically acclaimed “And Then We Danced” from 2019, Levan Akin comes back with another movie that critiques societal norms in relation to the Lgbtqia+ themes. The film, inspired by a heart-warming story about a senior who was supportive of his trans grandchild, premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Panorama Audience Award, and won the Teddy Award.
The story, written by Akin himself, follows Lia (Mzia Arabuli), as she tries to find and bring her transgender niece back home. According to her unexpected companion, Achi (Lucas Kankava), she went to Istanbul. These two set off on a journey to the capital of Turkey, where they explore new surroundings, as well as themselves.
“Crossing”, unlike “And Then We Danced”, doesn't have a classic narrative structure – the scenes are not always directly connected, and thus it is not the easiest to follow. The movie...
The story, written by Akin himself, follows Lia (Mzia Arabuli), as she tries to find and bring her transgender niece back home. According to her unexpected companion, Achi (Lucas Kankava), she went to Istanbul. These two set off on a journey to the capital of Turkey, where they explore new surroundings, as well as themselves.
“Crossing”, unlike “And Then We Danced”, doesn't have a classic narrative structure – the scenes are not always directly connected, and thus it is not the easiest to follow. The movie...
- 6/6/2024
- by Tobiasz Dunin
- AsianMoviePulse
In his 2019 breakout feature, And Then We Danced, Swedish writer-director Levan Akin examined gay self-discovery and defiant sexuality against the rigid gender codes of a traditional Georgian dance company. His warmly humanistic new film, Crossing, explores another story of queer identity in an unaccommodating environment, this time using an odd-couple journey to advocate for trans acceptance. Observed with granular detail and imbued with a pulsing sense of place, this novelistic drama takes time to connect its central triangle but does so with a suppleness and restraint that amplify the emotional rewards of its lovely open-ended conclusion.
That sense of place applies to two principal settings as well as the sprawling space in between. It opens in Batumi, on the rocky Black Sea coast of southwest Georgia, and then shifts to the teeming streets and crumbling apartment blocks of Istanbul’s high-density, low-income quarters, where the title expands beyond geographical borders...
That sense of place applies to two principal settings as well as the sprawling space in between. It opens in Batumi, on the rocky Black Sea coast of southwest Georgia, and then shifts to the teeming streets and crumbling apartment blocks of Istanbul’s high-density, low-income quarters, where the title expands beyond geographical borders...
- 2/15/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Visiting Istanbul, you can’t help but notice all of the cats: The Turkish metropolis is swarming with strays, some gorgeous and friendly, others haggard and more stand-offish. Entire films have been made about the phenomenon (of which “Kedi” was an especially popular example). But what of the countless other souls — the human ones — who also live on the margins of this modern city? They too are invisible until noticed. But if you look closely, it becomes impossible to unsee the homeless children and street sellers, sex workers and immigrants, many of them struggling to survive.
With “Crossing,” writer-director Levan Akin wants to open our eyes to the easily overlooked. After earning international acclaim with Cannes-selected queer drama “And Then We Danced,” Akin makes a calculated choice to raise awareness of the trans community in Istanbul, but he does so through representation rather than manipulation. “Crossing” tells the engaging if...
With “Crossing,” writer-director Levan Akin wants to open our eyes to the easily overlooked. After earning international acclaim with Cannes-selected queer drama “And Then We Danced,” Akin makes a calculated choice to raise awareness of the trans community in Istanbul, but he does so through representation rather than manipulation. “Crossing” tells the engaging if...
- 2/15/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
In “Crossing,” the new film from “And Then We Danced” director Levan Akin, the earthy spirit of Italian icon Anna Magnani is channeled by not one but two actresses who resemble her. There’s Mzia Arabuli as Lia, a retired schoolteacher on a journey from Batumi in Georgia to Istanbul in Turkey to find her missing trans niece, and Deniz Dumanli as Evrim, the trans Ngo lawyer the movie dupes us into thinking is Lia’s niece. The two women are as far apart on the joie de vivre spectrum as any pair could be — Lia has calcified into an emotionless stone who gives away nothing, while Evrim lives freely and sexually liberated in an otherwise LGBTQ-challenged country — yet “Crossing” movingly bridges the space between them as Lia gets closer to locating her niece with the help a Gen Z Georgian teenager named Achi (Lucas Kankava).
That these two women look so alike,...
That these two women look so alike,...
- 2/15/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Paris-based sales company Totem Films has boarded Lovisa Siren’s new film “Sagres,” a dynamic European road movie.
“Sagres,” which has just gone into production, follows two sisters and a teenage daughter who travel from Stockholm, Sweden, to the picturesque cliffs of Sagres, Portugal — located in the southwestern most part of Europe, known as “The End of the World.”
Maya, the younger sister, is a free-spirited, half-failing musician who has left her son in Portugal with her mother, while older sibling Nilo is a control freak in a sexless marriage. When the sisters’ mother phones up to say she’s sick, the pair — joined by Nilo’s rambunctious teenage daughter Laura — embarks on a road trip through Europe to reunite in Sagres, culminating in a tragicomic reunion no one expected.
“Sagres” marks Siren’s feature debut. Her 2014 film “Pussy Have the Power” picked up the Best Short Award at the Goteberg Film Festival.
“Sagres,” which has just gone into production, follows two sisters and a teenage daughter who travel from Stockholm, Sweden, to the picturesque cliffs of Sagres, Portugal — located in the southwestern most part of Europe, known as “The End of the World.”
Maya, the younger sister, is a free-spirited, half-failing musician who has left her son in Portugal with her mother, while older sibling Nilo is a control freak in a sexless marriage. When the sisters’ mother phones up to say she’s sick, the pair — joined by Nilo’s rambunctious teenage daughter Laura — embarks on a road trip through Europe to reunite in Sagres, culminating in a tragicomic reunion no one expected.
“Sagres” marks Siren’s feature debut. Her 2014 film “Pussy Have the Power” picked up the Best Short Award at the Goteberg Film Festival.
- 9/30/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
And Then We Danced, Levan Akin’s Georgian-language drama that premiered in Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight program last year, scooped the best film prize at last night’s Guldbagge Awards, Sweden’s primary awards ceremony.
At a ceremony in Stockholm, Akin’s movie also picked up best male lead for Levan Gelbakhiani, best script for Akin, and cinematography for Lisabi Fridell. The film is a coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, following a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak.
Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja’s sci-fi Aniara also had a good night, taking best director, best female lead for Emelie Garbers, female supporting role for Bianca Cruzeiro and best visual effects. The pic premiered at Toronto in 2018.
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite scooped best foreign film as the movie continues its prolific global awards run.
At a ceremony in Stockholm, Akin’s movie also picked up best male lead for Levan Gelbakhiani, best script for Akin, and cinematography for Lisabi Fridell. The film is a coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, following a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak.
Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja’s sci-fi Aniara also had a good night, taking best director, best female lead for Emelie Garbers, female supporting role for Bianca Cruzeiro and best visual effects. The pic premiered at Toronto in 2018.
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite scooped best foreign film as the movie continues its prolific global awards run.
- 1/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The former took best film with the latter winning best director.
Levan Akin’s Cannes 2019 title And Then We Danced and Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja’s Toronto 2018 film Aniara led the winners at the 2020 Guldbagge Awards, held on January 20 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Both films picked up four awards each. And Then We Danced took best film, best actor for Levan Gelbakhiani, best screenplay for Akin, and best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell; while Aniara received best director, best actress for Emelie Garbers, best supporting actress for Bianca Cruzeiro, and best visual effects for Arild Andersson, Per Jonsson and Andreas Wicklund.
Levan Akin’s Cannes 2019 title And Then We Danced and Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja’s Toronto 2018 film Aniara led the winners at the 2020 Guldbagge Awards, held on January 20 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Both films picked up four awards each. And Then We Danced took best film, best actor for Levan Gelbakhiani, best screenplay for Akin, and best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell; while Aniara received best director, best actress for Emelie Garbers, best supporting actress for Bianca Cruzeiro, and best visual effects for Arild Andersson, Per Jonsson and Andreas Wicklund.
- 1/21/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
The sci-fi epic Aniara has scooped four gongs, with a low yield for main contenders Roy Andersson and Mikael Håfström. In what has been called a lacklustre Swedish film year, the clearest beacon of light in 2019 was surely provided by Levan Akin in his heartfelt tale of a forbidden romance between two male dancers in the conservative Georgian dance community, And Then We Danced. It opened in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, became Sweden’s submission for the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film and has now been sold to nearly 40 territories. The co-production between Sweden’s Mathilde Dedye and Georgia’s Ketie Danelia, with additional co-production by Julien Féret, picked up the Guldbagge Awards for Best Film, Best Lead Actor (for Levan Gelbakhiani), Best Script (Akin) and Best Cinematography (Lisabi Fridell). Last week, it was awarded the Greta, the annual award handed out by the...
Levan Akin's And Then We Danced, a gay coming-of-age tale set in the ballet scene in the staunchly conservative and still very homophobic country of Georgia in Eastern Europe, has won best film at the Guldbagge Awards, Sweden's top film honor.
Levan Gelbakhiani took best actor for his debut role as a performer in the National Georgian Ballet who is thrown off balance by his growing attraction to a fellow male dancer. Akin also picked up a Guldbagge for best screenplay, and the film won best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell.
Best directing honors, however, went to Pella Kagerman and ...
Levan Gelbakhiani took best actor for his debut role as a performer in the National Georgian Ballet who is thrown off balance by his growing attraction to a fellow male dancer. Akin also picked up a Guldbagge for best screenplay, and the film won best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell.
Best directing honors, however, went to Pella Kagerman and ...
- 1/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Levan Akin's And Then We Danced, a gay coming-of-age tale set in the ballet scene in the staunchly conservative, and still very homophobic, country of Georgia in Eastern Europe, has won best film at the Guldbagge Awards, Sweden's top film honor.
Levan Gelbakhiani took best actor for his debut role as a performer in the National Georgian Ballet who is thrown off balance by his growing attraction to a fellow male dancer. Akin also picked up a Guldbagge for best screenplay and the film won best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell.
Best directing honors, however, went to Pella Kagerman and ...
Levan Gelbakhiani took best actor for his debut role as a performer in the National Georgian Ballet who is thrown off balance by his growing attraction to a fellow male dancer. Akin also picked up a Guldbagge for best screenplay and the film won best cinematography for Lisabi Fridell.
Best directing honors, however, went to Pella Kagerman and ...
- 1/21/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Debut competition titles at cinematography festival unveiled.
Camerimage, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 15-22), has revealed the line-up of films screening in three of the festival’s competition sections including Cinematographers’ Debut, Directors’ Debut and Student Etudes.
The entries are:
Cinematographers’ Debut Competition
Duane Hopkins’ Bypass;
UK, 2014; Cinematographer: David Procter
Sidney Lexy Plaut’s Dark Samurai;
Denmark, 2014; Cinematographer: Sidney Lexy Plaut
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s Difret;
Ethiopia, USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Monika Lenczewska
Krzysztof Skonieczny’s Hardkor Disko;
Poland, 2014; Cinematographer: Kacper Fertacz
Arild Østin Ommundsen’s It’s Only Make Believe;
Norway, 2013; Cinematographer: Arild Østin Ommundsen
Michael Cody and Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Ruin;
Australia, 2013; Cinematographer: Ari Wegner
Ester Martin Bergsmark’s Something Must Break;
Sweden, 2014; Cinematographers: Lisabi Fridell and Minka Jakerson
David Pablos’ The Life After;
Mexico, 2013; Cinematographer: José De- La-Torre
Saar Klein’s Things People Do;
USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Matthias Koenigswieser
Jonas Alexander Arnby’s When Animals Dream;
Denmark, 2013; Cinematographer: [link=nm...
Camerimage, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 15-22), has revealed the line-up of films screening in three of the festival’s competition sections including Cinematographers’ Debut, Directors’ Debut and Student Etudes.
The entries are:
Cinematographers’ Debut Competition
Duane Hopkins’ Bypass;
UK, 2014; Cinematographer: David Procter
Sidney Lexy Plaut’s Dark Samurai;
Denmark, 2014; Cinematographer: Sidney Lexy Plaut
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s Difret;
Ethiopia, USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Monika Lenczewska
Krzysztof Skonieczny’s Hardkor Disko;
Poland, 2014; Cinematographer: Kacper Fertacz
Arild Østin Ommundsen’s It’s Only Make Believe;
Norway, 2013; Cinematographer: Arild Østin Ommundsen
Michael Cody and Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Ruin;
Australia, 2013; Cinematographer: Ari Wegner
Ester Martin Bergsmark’s Something Must Break;
Sweden, 2014; Cinematographers: Lisabi Fridell and Minka Jakerson
David Pablos’ The Life After;
Mexico, 2013; Cinematographer: José De- La-Torre
Saar Klein’s Things People Do;
USA, 2014; Cinematographer: Matthias Koenigswieser
Jonas Alexander Arnby’s When Animals Dream;
Denmark, 2013; Cinematographer: [link=nm...
- 10/16/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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