Ayla: The Daughter of War (; ) is a 2017 Turkish-South Korean drama film directed by Can Ulkay. The movie set in Korean war period, tells the story of Sergeant Süleyman who helps a little girl he names Ayla during the war.
Turkey sends a brigade to South Korea as a result of the call for help made by the United Nations when North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. Sergeant Süleyman, one of the soldiers in the brigade, finds a little girl whose mother and father were murdered on the battlefield. Sergeant Süleyman gives her the nickname Ayla because he found her in the moonlight. The two form a friendship despite the language barrier between them, but are torn apart when Süleyman had to return home.
Ayla is based on the true story of Kim Eun-ja and Süleyman DilbirliÃÂi, whose real-life reunion was shown in the 2010 Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation documentary Kore Ayla directed by . In casting held in South Korea in 2016, child actress Kim Seol, who had previously played the role of Jin-ju in the popular South Korean television series Reply 1988, was chosen for the role of young Ayla. Ko Eun-min played the role of young Ayla's mother.
Filming began in 2016. The film was sponsored by Turkish Airlines, with support from Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Most of the filming was carried out in Turkey. Filming in Turkey was completed in June 2017. The first screening of the movie was held on 11 September 2017 within the scope of the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on 27 October 2017 in Turkey and 21 June 2018 in South Korea.
The movie was selected as the Turkish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.