Layla M. (2016)
Layla M. (2016) Profile Photo

Layla M. (2016)

Genre
Drama
Release Date
November 12, 2016
Studio
Cinemien
Genre
Drama
Release Date
November 12, 2016
MPAA Rating
-
Duration
110 minute(s)
Production Budget
-
Studio
Cinemien
Official Site
-
Director
Mijke de Jong
Producer
Arnold Heslenfeld, Laurette Schillings, Frans van Gestel
Screenwriter
Jan Eilander, Mijke de Jong
Starring
  • Nora El Koussour
  • Ilias Addab
  • Karl Ferlin

Radicalized by her adopted country's anti-Muslim measures, a Dutch-Moroccan teenager marries a devout jihadist and leaves Amsterdam to join an Islamist cell in the Middle East - only to discover that her new community has its own restrictions and prejudices.

It starts with a soccer referee's flippant remark about "you people," a bit of casual racism that alienated 18-year-old Layla (Nora El Koussour) sees as symptomatic of a larger, dangerous trend. Layla lives in Amsterdam with her family, all of whom are proud of their Moroccan heritage, though none share Layla's fervour for Islam, which seems to become more radical by the week.

Layla complains that her family doesn't read the Quran together, and she resents the fact that she's the only one who seems concerned about the government's threat to ban burqas. By the time she's arrested for joining in a demonstration, Layla's resolved to meet what she's deemed to be her destiny.

She drops out of school, runs away from home, and marries a devout jihadist. They leave the Netherlands, heading first to a training camp in the Ardennes and then to the Middle East. But Layla soon discovers that her gender bars her from any meaningful participation in the activities she gave up her former life for - while her young husband seems set to make the ultimate sacrifice.