Lyrical documentary ‘From Abdul to Leila' to screen in Berlin

Broadcast Pro

5 days ago

The film traces Leila, a French-Iraqi woman, who after an accident and years in exile, reconnects with her dissident father by learning Arabic and singing her story.
French-Iraqi musician and filmmaker Leila Albayaty will present her lyrical documentary From Abdul to Leila at a special screening in Berlin on July 22 at 7 PM, hosted at Divan (Arabic Kulturhaus). The event will be followed by an exclusive Q&A session with the director herself.
The deeply personal film traces Albayaty's search for her lost Arabic identity, a journey set in motion by music passed down from her Iraqi father, Abdul. After surviving a traumatic accident that left her with memory loss and enduring years of exile, Leila returns to her family home in the south of France. There, she confronts both her father's past, marked by the Iraq war, and her own fragmented identity. Determined to understand where she comes from, she begins learning Arabic and sets to music the poems Abdul once wrote for her. Through this act of artistic and linguistic reconnection, long-buried memories begin to resurface.
From Abdul to Leila follows the emotional and physical odyssey of a woman who reclaims her story through music. As Leila travels from France to Iraq and Cairo, the narrative unfolds through intimate moments, blending documentary realism with poetic musicality. The film reveals her evolving relationship with her father, her struggle to overcome personal trauma, and her growing love for the Arabic language and culture.
The documentary has already received critical acclaim, winning the Best Documentary Award at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam and the Annual Aarhus Film Festival in Denmark, along with the Grand Jury Prize at the Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival.
The film was made possible with support from several cultural institutions, including Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM), the Centre du cinéma et de l'audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), the Doha Film Institute, Filmkunstering, the Goethe Institute of Cairo, and the French Institute of Tunis. It also participated in prominent industry platforms such as the Dubaï Film Connection, Sarajevo Cinelink Work in Progress and Medimed Barcelona.
From Abdul to Leila is not only a rediscovery of heritage but a powerful reflection on family, memory, displacement, and the healing power of music.