When her sister dies, a retired teacher (Mzia Arabuli) in Georgia goes to Istanbul together with a young guide (Lucas Kankava) to try to find her niece, a trans girl who was rejected by the family.

The director behind And Then We Danced (2019) delivers another compelling LGBTQ story from a culture Western audiences know little about. As we follow the search for Tekla, the missing trans girl, we also get to know an attorney, Evrim (Deniz Dumanli), who knows all about the situation for the Turkish trans community because of her own experience.

A warm, compassionate drama; Arabuli is a tower of strength.

2024-Sweden-Denmark-France-Turkey-Georgia. 105 min. Color. Written and directed by Levan Akin. Editing: Levan Akin, Emma Lagrelius. Cast: Mzia Arabuli (Lia), Lucas Kankava (Achi), Deniz Dumanli (Evrim). 

Trivia: Original title: Passage.

Last word: “Films have a power, images have power. And if you show people other ways, other images of the things that they are used to, maybe it will make people think twice. I think that’s what made me want to make this film and tell this story. It’s also a story about regrets and atonement, and having that conversation with someone that I think we’ve all wanted to have, or say things that you know you can’t say anymore. I think that’s universal.” (Akin, Variety)