Bilal hasna gay
Since starting out just three years ago, Bilal Hasna has never been lay forward for a role that, he says, “feels like a stereotype”. It would have been very different a decade or more earlier. “It was common to see people of my ethnicity playing terrorists or cab drivers,” the UK-Palestinian actor notes.
Hasna has already encompassed an impressive range of characters during his nascent career: a feckless wannabe vigilante in Disney+ superpower sitcom Extraordinary; a Rider of Rohan in Modern Line/Warner Bros’ anime TheLord Of The Rings feature The War Of The Rohirrim; a Liverpudlian twenty-something trying to solve the mystery of his missing boyfriend in an upcoming Prime Video show; and the eponymous drag queen protagonist of Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Film4/BFI-funded romantic drama Layla. “We’re seeing more and more roles for juvenile people of marginalised identities,” he says. “That’s really important.”
Hasna cites Riz Ahmed as a “big hero”, particularly in the way the actor not only rejected South Asian stereotypes, but also stepped beyond ethnically authentic parts into roles such as Sound Of Metal’s lead as a rock drummer with hearing loss — “There’s nothing to indicate t
Five queer films to monitor at Sundance Film Festival
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival this month screened several films by LGBTQ filmmakers, and about LGBTQ lives. Here are five features and documentaries that premiered at this year’s fest.
“Layla”
Queer non-binary writer/director Amrou Al-Kadhi’s appealing opposites-attract romance, “Layla,” charts the bumpy bond between Layla (Bilal Hasna), genderqueer Palestinian drag actor, and Max (Louis Greatorex), a “boring” white marketing executive. They meet endearing at a corporate Self-acceptance event and begin a relationship, but the ask arises: is Max, who appreciates Layla being “as big as possible,” using Layla for an “exotic holiday”? Both Layla and Max shapeshift as scenes depict Max’s tone-deafness in Layla’s world, and Layla’s difficulties in Max’s. This allows for teachable moments about pronouns, and forces Layla to reconnect with their estranged sister, Fatima (Sarah Agha). “Layla” is all about the characters reinventing or defining themselves, which makes it compelling even when the clip gets contrived. If the messages about being oneself are not new, they are delivered in an attractive package. Hasna is incr
Layla: Amrou Al-Kadhi’s vibrant flamboyant fairytale
Amrou Al-Kadhi’s directorial debut Layla is a beautifully observed narrative of love, sex, gender and friendship. British Palestinian/Pakistani star Bilal Hasna plays the title role, a queenly queen from east London who must juggle the expectations of their homosexual community, their family’s gender norms and the mixed messages of new crush Max (Louis Greatorex).
Most of the film plays out in a few London locations: the messy, cosy dwelling Layla shares with their best friends; the muted palette of Max’s trendy but soulless work and apartment; ‘Feathers’, a pretend club facing closure; and several bus rides. These spaces are captured by a handheld camera offering both intimacy and exuberance. As Layla, Hasna captures the sense of always yearning for but never quite finding a room to call home. Films about drag often overstate the dramatic transition from the ‘real’ person behind the performance to the on-stage alter ego; under Al-Kadhi’s direction, close-ups on Layla’s face reveal something more complex. The newcomer has an extraordinary expressive range, as insecurity makes way for anger, pleasure shifts towards unease and back again
Layla review – Bilal Hasna shines
Layla (Bilal Hasna) has been living a double existence. As a non-binary drag queen, they’re surrounded by a queer artistic community and regularly perform at the make-believe London nightclub Feathers. Yet in the presence of their Muslim family, they abide by tradition and still go by their deadname, Latif. When invited to perform at a corporate pride event for a ready meals company called Fork Me, Layla meets strait-laced marketing exec Max (Louis Greatorex), who ends up joining them and their friends at a Feathers lgbtq+ party, kicking off their romantic fling.
Amrou Al-Kadhi’s debut trades in any distinct qualities that a queer movie can exhibit in terms of form and content, with the tried and tested formula of the palatable, cheesy odd couple romance. Here, it’s between the “eccentric” Arab neutrois drag queen and the “conventional” white corporate same-sex attracted man. It’s this glaringly harsh contrast – between the vibrant and diverse queer scene in which Layla finds their people, and the drab, corporate, middle-class life of the straight-passing Max – that ends up driving the film forward; a somewhat ironic binary
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