“I have no future and thus no plans. I’m just here until I’m not.” Stony-faced and severe, Lia (Mzia Arabuli), a retired schoolteacher from Batumi, Georgia, is not in the business of mincing words. But she’s not being entirely honest about her plans. There is one final thing that she hopes to achieve: she aims to track down her niece, Tekla, to make amends for failing her years before in a time of need.

Her quest takes her across the border to Istanbul; tagging along with her is Achi (Lucas Kankava), an opportunist kid who has talked his way on to her trip as an interpreter, but really just sees her as a way of escaping his dead-end life in a Black Sea beach shack with his bullying brother. Following a series of false starts, and a few too many evenings of heavy drinking, the pair connect with Evrim (Deniz Dumanli), a trans woman, lawyer and advocate for trans rights.

The latest film from Swedish director Levan Akin (And Then We Danced), Crossing is terrific: a rich and rewarding tapestry of characters and cultures flung together and flourishing.

• In UK and Irish cinemas now and on Mubi from 30 August