Layla M. | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mijke de Jong |
Written by | Jan Eilander Mijke de Jong |
Starring | Nora El Koussour |
Cinematography | Danny Elsen |
Edited by | Dorith Vinken |
Distributed by | Cinemien |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | Netherlands |
Languages | Dutch Arabic English |
Box office | $266,010 [1] [2] |
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 young woman growing up. In Layla M., de Jong and her collaborator Jan Eilander wanted to examine the radicalisation of European youngsters. The writers were inspired by a real life account; they wrote the script during the Arab Spring and the trial of Geert Wilders.
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, but it was not nominated.
Layla is a young Dutch Muslim of Moroccan background. She was born and raised in Amsterdam, but faces daily Islamophobia and racism. Whilst her family are happily assimilated into Dutch culture, Layla starts to rebel and to move toward Islamic fundamentalism. She begins to watch and circulate short films she finds on the internet about the situation in Syria and Gaza, deciding to make a film herself, which angers her family. When a ban on wearing burqas is made, this strengthens her resolve to wear one. Layla then meets a young radical called Abdel and decides to marry him. They go to a jihadist training camp in Belgium and narrowly evade the police, before relocating to Amman, the capital city of Jordan. When she lives abroad in a different culture, Layla's radicalism is tested as she struggles to adjust to a patriarchal society and begins to see the hypocrisy of extremism.
Mijke de Jong has focused upon strong young female characters in films such as Bluebird , Katia's Sister and Joy . [3] In the early 2010s, the radicalisation of European youngsters into Islamic fundamentalists led to around 3000 people (of which 550 were women) travelling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Around 220 people travelled from the Netherlands to Iraq and Syria, of which almost half were Moroccan-Dutch. [4] De Jong had been planning to write a script based on her own youthful experiences in the Dutch squatters movement when she had a chance meeting with a Dutch woman who had converted to Islam and married a man who had then undergone a radicalisation process. The couple would sometimes visit Morocco together and on their final trip the man disappeared for several weeks, returning as an Islamic militant who had shaved his beard off as in preparation for a suicide bombing. The young woman divorced her husband and never heard of him again. Her story captivated de Jong, and she and co-writer Jan Eilander changed plans to write the new story instead. [5] They kept elements from de Jong's original plans, since saw the similarities between her experiences and Layla's. These included being adamant about social justice and searching for an identity to belong to. Setting the film in contemporary times allowed the writing team to introduce concepts such as online youth radicalisation and multiculturalism. [6] However, de Jong has commented that "for me, the film isn’t so much about showing a radicalization process, but about a girl with a radical personality." [7] At the time of writing, the Arab Spring was happening and in the Netherlands there was a debate triggered by the trial of Geert Wilders on the charge of inciting hatred against Dutch Moroccans. [5] [8]
Casting director Rebecca van Unen suggested Nora El Koussour to play the main role. El Koussour had recently graduated from a theatre school in Rotterdam. When she enjoyed singing a nasheed with Ilias Addab, de Jong was happy with the chemistry between the actors and decided to cast her. [7] Layla M. was shot completely on location, in Belgium, Germany, Jordan and the Netherlands. It was a co-production between these four countries. [5] The original plan had been to film in Syria, but the outbreak of the Syrian civil war meant that production switched to Jordan. [7]
Layla M. premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2016. [6] Before its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival the film was acquired by BetaFilms for international distribution. [9] The film had a cinematic release in the Netherlands on 17 November 2016. It grossed $71,804 on its opening weekend and took in total $266,010 worldwide. [1] It was released on DVD and Video on demand (VOD) on 27 March 2017. [10]
The Dutch media was enthusiastic about Layla M.. The Algemeen Dagblad called it an "important" story and gave it four stars out of five. De Telegraaf (four stars) praised El Koussour's talent in showing "her character's indomitable spirit" and NRC Handelsblad (four stars) highlighted the "intense acting performance of the two main protagonists". [11]
Internationally, the reviews of the film were generally favourable. Layla M. has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. [12] Variety noted that the film came at a time when Islamophobia was on the rise in Western Europe and wrote that "El Koussour and Addab share a gentle chemistry that curdles into romantic tragedy". [13] Screen Daily perceived an "intelligent approach to complex matters", highlighting the cinematography of Danny Elsen and El Koussour's star performance. [14] The New York Times found it a "persuasive case study" of radicalisation. [15] The Hollywood Reporter criticised aspects of the film such as the narrative and the development of supporting roles, whilst also praising its topicality and the location work in Jordan. [16]
Layla M. was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. It was also nominated for four Golden Calves. [17] Nora El Koussour won the Golden Calf for Best Actress and Mohammed Azaay won the Golden Calf Award for Best Supporting Actor. [18] [19] El Koussour also won the Special Jury prize for outstanding performance at Philadelphia Film Festival. [20] At Filmfest München it won the Fritz Gerlich Prize. [21]
The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention. In 2004, there were 16 award categories, mainly because in 2003 the categories Best Photography, Best Montage, Best Music, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design were added.
Bluebird is a 2004 Dutch television film directed by Mijke de Jong. It is the first in a trilogy of films made by de Jong about young women becoming adults. The film was selected by the Netherlands as its official Foreign Language Film submission for the 78th Academy Awards, but was disqualified by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because it had been shown on television.
The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best actor/actress at the Nederlands Film Festival. From 2021 onwards the award became a gender-neutral award.
Broos (Frail) is a 1997 Dutch film directed by Mijke de Jong. It is based on a play, in which five sisters meet up to record a message for their parents' 40th wedding anniversary. The film was shot on location in 14 days with backing from the Netherlands Film Fund.
Mohammed Azaay is a Moroccan-Dutch actor. Azaay graduated from arts college Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in 2000 as actor. Together with Karim El Guennouni he has a project called "De Varkensfabriek", named after their successful 2004 performance. He also played in "Het Nationale Toneel", "Het Toneel Speelt" and "Theaterhuis Alba". Aside from theatre, Azaay played in several films and TV series, most notably Offers.
Mijke de Jong is a Dutch film director, screenwriter and producer. She is known for creating films such as Bluebird (2004), Frailer (2014), Layla M. (2016) and God Only Knows (2019). Layla M. was selected as the 2018 Dutch entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Brothers is a 2017 Dutch adventure film directed by Bram Schouw. It was shortlisted by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as one of the eight films to be selected as the potential Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. However, it was not selected, with Layla M. being chosen as the Dutch entry.
Quality Time is a 2017 Dutch drama film directed by Daan Bakker. It was shortlisted by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as one of the eight films to be selected as the potential Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. However, it was not selected, with Layla M. being chosen as the Dutch entry.
The Day My Father Became a Bush is a 2016 Dutch drama film directed by Nicole van Kilsdonk. It was shortlisted by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as one of the eight films to be selected as the potential Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. However, it was not selected, with Layla M. being chosen as the Dutch entry.
Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle is a 2017 Dutch comedy film, written by Peter van Wijk and directed by Mike van Diem. It was shortlisted by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as one of the eight films to be selected as the potential Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. However, it was not selected, with Layla M. being chosen as the Dutch entry.
De Matthäus Missie van Reinbert de Leeuw is a 2016 Dutch Documentary film directed by Cherry Duyns. It documents how conductor Reinbert de Leeuw prepares for a concert of Johann Sebastian Bachs St Matthew Passion in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. It was shortlisted by the EYE Film Institute Netherlands as one of the eight films to be selected as the potential Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. However, it was not selected, with Layla M. being chosen as the Dutch entry.
Sander Vos is a Dutch film editor.
Joy is a 2010 Dutch drama film directed by Mijke de Jong. The film premiered on 14 February 2010 at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film follows an orphaned young woman searching for her biological mother. It was the third in a trilogy of films in which de Jong followed a young female character as she became an adult.
Nora El Koussour is a Dutch actress. She won the Golden Calf for Best Actress award in 2017 for her role in the film Layla M..
The Promise of Pisa is a 2019 Dutch drama film directed by Norbert ter Hall. The film is based on the autobiographical novel by Mano Bouzamour.
Elsie de Brauw is a Dutch actress.
God Only Knows is a 2019 Dutch language arthouse film written and directed by Mijke de Jong. The film stars Marcel Musters as a mentally ill man, with Monic Hendrickx and Elsie de Brauw as his two sisters. Musters won a Golden Calf for Best Actor for his role.
Katia's Sister is a 2008 film directed by Mijke de Jong. It was adapted by Jan Eilander and Jolien Laarman from a 2001 novel written by Andrés Barba. The film premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival and won two Golden Calf awards.
Marcel Musters is a Dutch actor.