DİL LEYLA

At 26, Leyla Îmret, a Kurdish-German woman, becomes the youngest mayor in Turkey. In a record 81% landslide she is elected mayor of Cizre, a Kurdish capital city that lies in the war-torn region at Turkey’s border with Syria and Iraq. It is here that Leyla was born, but after her father was killed by the Turkish military, she was sent to live in Germany at the age of five. After more than 20 years she returns home. Her goal is to heal and beautify the civil-war-torn city, which is enjoying a break in the violence. But on the eve of Turkey’s parliamentary elections in 2015, everything changes, and old memories become more real than ever.

Leyla Îmret is a Kurdish politician in Turkey. She is currently living in political asylum in Germany.