Sightlines · reception

How Crossing was received

2024 · Levan Akin · Crossing on Sightlines

The arc

Premiered in Berlinale's Panorama section in 2024 to near-unanimous acclaim (97% on Rotten Tomatoes) and took the Teddy jury prize; since hitting MUBI it's grown from festival darling into a word-of-mouth favorite that cemented Levan Akin as more than a one-film (And Then We Danced) director.

What’s debated

The debate is the ending — Akin himself has called it risky, and viewers split over whether its bold final swerve is transcendent or a break from the film's grounded realism.

Where it stands

A Letterboxd-beloved entry in the 2020s queer canon — the 'if you loved And Then We Danced' follow-up that's quietly becoming a touchstone of contemporary trans-solidarity cinema.

Did you know? Deniz Dumanlı, a trans actress making her screen debut as the lawyer Evrim, was cast only the day before filming began — Akin found his Istanbul cast through the city's real trans community, with a trans man, Bulut Sezer, leading local casting.

Named by the director

• Pier Paolo Pasolini — Akin cited the Italian neorealists, naming Pasolini, saying they 'capture an essence, like a spark' — what he wanted for both And Then We Danced and Crossing.
• Federico Fellini — Named alongside Pasolini as the neorealist-era filmmakers whose essence-capturing approach he drew on for this film.