Elaha

Dir: Milena Aboyan
Cast: Bayan Layla, Hadnet Tesfai, Derya Durmaz
111 mins
English Subtitles

“At a certain point in my life, other people controlled me and I didn’t have the courage to defend myself, it almost broke me, until I asked myself the right question: are you the woman you want to be?”

Elaha is a young Kurdish-German woman facing a dilemma just weeks away from her wedding. Torn between the unconditional love for her family and her own aspirations in life, Elaha investigates the possibility of hymen reconstruction to cover up the fact that she is no longer a virgin – a state of ‘honour’ considered essential by her German-Kurdish community and, more specifically, by her strict mother.

Milena Aboyan’s feature debut is a compelling character portrait and feminist journey of identity and self-discovery, powered by Bayan Layla’s astonishing performance, portraying Elaha with exuberance and empathy.

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