DIL LEYLA
She is the youngest-ever and first female mayor of Cizre, a town located in the southeast of Turkey, where the majority of the population is Kurdish.
SYNOPSIS
At 26, a Kurdish-German woman is elected the youngest mayor in Turkey. In a record 81% landslide she is elected mayor of Cizre, a Kurdish capital city that lies in the war-torn region at Turkey’s border with Syria and Iraq. It is here that Leyla was born, but after her father was killed by the Turkish military, she was sent at the age of 5 to live in Germany. After more than 20 years, she returns home. Her goal is to heal and beautify the civil-war-torn city, which is enjoying a break in the violence. But on the eve of Turkey’s parliamentary elections, everything changes, and old memories become more real than ever.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“In 2014 I read an article about Leyla Imret. A young woman at my age decides to return to the hometown of her parents. After reading her story, I wanted to know more about her motivation and ambitions. Why she went there, why this position, and what connects her with the town. I went to Cizre on research and wanted to experience her in that particular town. Here I saw her everyday life, which was new to a mayor, in an unknown town. I learned about her motivations. I knew that I had to make a film about it.”
– Asli Özarslan
CAST / TEAM
Original Title Dil Leyla
Genre Documentary
Length 71 min.
Format HD, 16:9, Color
Languages Kurdish, German
Locations Cizre/Turkey & Bremen/Germany
Production Country Germany
Release 2016
Co-Producers SWR, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Funding MFG Film Funding
German Distributor Essence Film
World Sales Filmdelights
Director Asli Özarslan
Director of Photography Carina Neubohn
Producer Igor Dovgal
Executive Producer Sabrina Proske
Production Manager Ciham Imret
Film Editor Ana Branea
Assistant Editor Atanja Zilg
Sound Design Jonathan Schorr
Sound Mixer Jonathan Schorr, Aljoscha Haupt, Nami Strack, Oscar Stiebitz
FILM STILLS GALLERY
MAKING OF GALLERY
DOWNLOADS
AWARDS
INFORMATION
Reviews
Festivals
IDFA - November 2016
Max Ophüls Preis - January 2017
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival - March 2017
One World Documentary Film Festival - March 2017
Movies that Matter Festival - March 2017
Achtung Berlin - April 2017
Crossing Europe Filmfestival Linz - April 2017
Sehsüchte Berlin - April 2017
DOK.fest München - Mai 2017
Agadir International Documentry Festival - Mai 2017
Documentary Film Festival Karlsruhe - Mai 2017
Krakow Film Festival - Mai 2017
Ischia Film Festival - June 2017
Duhok International Film Festival - September 2017
Nuremberg Human Rights Film Festival - September 2017
Document 2017 Glasgow - October 2017
Arab Film Festival Tuebingen - October 2017
Escales Documentaires de La Rochelles - November 2017
Elles Tournent Bruxelle - January 2018
One World Romania - March 2018
Filmtage Friedrichshafen - March 2018
Copenhagen Kurdish Film Festival - March 2018
Nancy International Film Festival - August 2018
Nominations
Studio Hamburg Nachwuchspreis 2017
First Steps Award 2017
Grimme-Preis 2018
SI-Star Filmpreis 2018
Cinema & Broadcast
Cinema Release Date in Austria: 23.06.2017
Cinema Release Date in Germany: 29.06.2017
SWR: 04.10.2017 - 11.25pm, 02.07.2020 - 11.45pm