Layla

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Layla

Released Mar 21

1h 40m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

LGBTQ+

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Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Layla is a struggling Arab drag queen whose confident façade hides their desperate desire for love. When their performance at a belittling corporate Pride event turns into a transgressive takedown, they are surprised to catch the eye of marketing executive Max, whose attentions sweep Layla off their feet. The two start an intoxicating romance, but as Layla starts to alter who they are in order to keep Max's interest, they both have to face uncomfortable truths.

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Marina Ashioti

Little White Lies

Amrou Al-Kadhi’s debut trades in any unique qualities that a queer film can exhibit in terms of form and content, with the tried and tested formula of the palatable, cheesy odd couple romance.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 11, 2024

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

It’s a bland, flip-flopping central romance, topped off with some sub-Oprah sentiment about self-empowerment.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 27, 2024

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Layla has found their tribe -- and it’s here that first-time director Amrou Al-Kadhi, also a drag artist, excels, capturing the sparkling, sensual spectacle of the queer club circuit.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 25, 2024

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Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Writer-director Amrou Al-Kadhi refreshingly resists creating characters who are easy to pigeon-hole, and situations don't resolve themselves in tidy ways we've grown to expect on-screen.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 20, 2025

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John Noonan

FILMINK (Australia)

… a daring film that not only explores queerness from a Non-Western perspective but also challenges the norms of how LGBT characters are portrayed in mainstream media. It's a joy to watch.

Rated: 16/20

Jan 31, 2025

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Maria Lattila

Film Stories

It’s charming and raises some interesting themes about queer identity and families, both chosen and biological, but the script could have done with another go to provide some more thematic clarity and smooth it out a little.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 19, 2024

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Amrou Al-Kadhi

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Synopsis

Layla is a struggling Arab drag queen whose confident façade hides their desperate desire for love. When their performance at a belittling corporate Pride event turns into a transgressive takedown, they are surprised to catch the eye of marketing executive Max, whose attentions sweep Layla off their feet. The two start an intoxicating romance, but as Layla starts to alter who they are in order to keep Max's interest, they both have to face uncomfortable truths.

Director: Amrou Al-Kadhi
Producer: Savannah James-Bayly
Screenwriter: Amrou Al-Kadhi, Amrou Al-Kadhi
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Production Co: AUM Group, Film4, British Film Institute
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 28, 2025
Runtime: 1h 40m

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