Underplayed Gems

Layla M. (2016)

Layla M. poster
Directed by
Mijke de Jong
Genre
drama film
Country
Germany, Netherlands, Belgium
Runtime
1h 43m
Rated
12
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 57 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A young Dutch woman of Moroccan background becomes increasingly drawn to Islamic fundamentalism, causing conflict with her family and school. The film follows her journey as she navigates her beliefs and the consequences of her choices.

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What happens

Layla M. is a 2016 Dutch drama film directed by Mijke de Jong. It stars Nora El Koussour as Layla, a young Dutch woman of Moroccan background who rebels against her family and schooling to become an Islamic fundamentalist. As in other films by de Jong, the focus is on a strong-willed woman coming of age. In Layla M., de Jong and her collaborator Jan Eilander wanted to examine the radicalisation of European youngsters. The writers were inspired by a contemporary account. In addition, they were influenced by writing it during the Arab Spring and the trial of Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician known for stands against immigration of Muslims to Europe. The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2016. The home media reviews were favourable and internationally the film was well-received. At the Netherlands Film Festival, El Koussour won the Golden Calf for Best Actress and Mohammed Azaay won the Golden Calf Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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