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Director's Statement
Layla is tough, irritating, lovable, allergic to injustice, certain of her own convictions, feminist and in search of a place where she can be herself. Due to fear and incapacity, she is a girl who frequently shows her dark side, but who eventually and with enormous passion, chooses a courageous life; one in which she speaks her mind should she deem it necessary. Even if this means contradicting the strict codes by which her Muslim brothers and sisters abide by. Her faith in Allah is unconditional, but in her own way. In my opinion, Layla is (and should be) a vulnerable heroine.
For a long time, I have wanted to make a film about a girl who radicalises and by doing so, places herself - partly – outside society. I recognise many patterns from my own youth in Layla‘s story: the passion and commitment to social injustice, the black-and-white simplistic way of thinking and the appeal of us - against the rest of the world. When I arrived in Amsterdam in the eighties, the squatter’s movement was about to conquer the city. Within no time, my life consisted of campaigns and demonstrations. The more radical the better. I was looking for structure, for a family, for my identity.
That was 30 years ago. Jan Eilander, who is largely responsible for the screenplay, and I wanted to make a film set in the NOW. In a multicultural, upside-down society where your opinions have to be newly devised on a daily basis. In the years that Jan and I have been working on this film, not much has changed in terms of the basic idea, but a lot has changed in the world around it. The conflict is very complex and good and bad is not so easy to identify. Just the same, there is a group of young people who do not feel at home in the country where they were born. We believe it is important in this era to shine our light on a young woman and a young man belonging to that group. We want to give insight why a girl like Layla, with her character and sense of justice, needs the safe limits of a radical group to develop. She can express her dissatisfaction, profess her faith and divide the world into good or bad. But she eventually breaks out again. Ultimately the bond of the group is squashed. Her ‘external aggressive’ perception of religion and political beliefs, gives way to a more tranquil internal perception. She dares to allow more colour in her monotone view of the world, whereby she becomes closer to herself.