The brilliance of this film is that it feels real.

Setting out on a quest to fulfill a dying wish might sound like a fable but Crossing is not a fairy tale. In fact, the premise is based on a true story Akin heard about a grandmother traveling from Georgia to Turkey in search of her trans granddaughter. Akin also drew a lot on his own personal experience, specifically with regard to Istanbul and the way the city feels to him:

“The thing with Istanbul is that it is a place where in a very short distance you can find polar opposite worlds. One street is very religious, and if you walk down two streets it is suddenly a queer haven, where men walk holding hands. I wanted to portray this dichotomy in the film. When Lia and Achi are walking to the trans-neighborhood in the film the short distance that they walk is actually the distance in reality. Everyone lives on top of each other in Istanbul, all kinds of religions, people and not to forget the cats and dogs.”