In honour of her sister’s dying wish, retired history teacher Lia (Mzia Arabuli) has crossed the Black Sea from Batumi in Georgia to Istanbul in search of her trans niece Tekla who has disappeared. Chasing down a sketchy lead, she comes into the orbit of Achi (Lucas Kankava), a feckless young man who squats with his loutish older brother. Seizing an opportunity for escape, Achi persuades her to take him as companion and guide on her quest, proffering unconvincing intel about Tekla’s whereabouts. His youthful zeal and natural inquisitiveness prove a winning foil to the older woman’s flinty, hard-drinking stoicism, and the odd couple’s uncertain relationship anchors Levan Akins’s quixotic film that displays great empathy for the obstacles faced by LGBTQI communities where traditional value systems dominate.

Notes by David O’Mahony