Leylak is a 2021 short drama film directed by Scott Aharoni and Dennis Latos and starring Nadir Sarñbacak. The film was written by Mustafa Kaymak. Leylak was shot and edited during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the film is set. Actor Colman Domingo serves as an executive producer.
The film held its world premiere at the 20th Annual Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2021, where it won Special Jury Mention in the Best Narrative Short category.
During 2020, Aharoni & Latos reached out to Kaymak to conceptualize the film's story, using the emotional and mental impact of the pandemic on society, particularly in its setting of New York City, as the basis. The film is told within a 24 hour period, done to heighten the tension of the plot and intensify the situation the characters face in the midst of the pandemic. Aharoni further explained this, by saying: "We didnâÂÂt want the film to remain relevant for this year, or the next, but for many years to come â to remind us all that through grief and hardship, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel."
Principal photography took place throughout August 2020. Laura Valladao, known for her work on Kevin Wilson Jr.'s Academy Award-nominated short film My Nephew Emmett, served as cinematographer.
The film had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2021 and played a successful run on the film festival circuit.