The screening of the short film Leyla, directed by Kurdish filmmaker Zagros Manouchehri, has opened in Helsinki and has already drawn attention from viewers and the artistic community. This kaleidoscopic short film portrays the life of a Kurdish woman from Rojava who, at the age of 13, was forced to leave her home and—after crossing several countries through irregular migration—reached Sweden and later settled in Finland.

Leyla weaves together childhood photographs, farewell letters from childhood friends, stories from the difficult journey of smuggling, the support of a Swedish host family, and reflections on life in the diaspora. The film offers an intimate, multilayered narrative of displacement, identity, resilience, and the struggle to be seen.

This is Manouchehri’s third short film in the past three years. His earlier work, Halabja (2023), depicted the story of a family that fled after the chemical attack on Halabja and continued to live with its physical and psychological consequences.

Born in 1990 in Sulaymaniyah, Manouchehri is a doctoral candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. His work often addresses themes such as war, children’s rights, displacement, and violence. His films and artworks have been exhibited widely in Finland and at international festivals. Together with his spouse, he has also published three Finnish-language picture books for children.

The short film Leyla is currently on view at Mediaboxx, Helsinki, and will run until 28 December 2025.