Layla
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Film Festival 2019
Celine Cotran / Short Narrative / United Kingdom / 18 min / DCP / In Arabic, English / English subtitles
Rated: Mature subject matter which may not be suitable for minors. Parental guidance is strongly advised.Individuals under the age of 15 are not admitted into cinemas.
Synopsis
A late-in-life, coming-of-age drama, ‘Layla’ is an examination of migrant culture in the UK. Relocated to the seaside town of Margate in Kent, Layla is a 60-year-old Syrian Refugee, who balances working the sweetshop at the local funfair with looking after her young granddaughter. Unable to build relationships with the British population around her, she finally makes a connection with a young boy, Femi, who teachers her to skateboard.
About the Director
Celine Cotran is a British-Lebanese filmmaker and London Film School graduate who tells female-driven stories that touch on the fantastical and absurd. Since graduating, she has been mentored by Academy award-winning producer, David Parfitt, who executive produced her short film 'The Time Tree'—which was a grant recipient of the DFI Grants Programme and premiered at Sarajevo Film Festival in 2018.
Credits
- Director
- Celine Cotran
- Producer
- Oliver Sunley
- Production Designer
- Sam Mitchell
- Executive Producer
- Huda Cotran
- Composer
- Paul Devlin
- Production Company
- C24 Films
- Cast
- Amir Richards, Wafa Al Shalati