About Idil

Evocative and tender, Idil tells the story of a daughter, her father, their home Xamar, and the power in forging one’s own path by reclaiming love, community, and spirituality.

Idil, a university student in London, wishes to reconnect with her grandmother’s spiritual legacy to revive her memories of home, Xamar the Radiant. On a 2002 summer trip to Damascus to study the Sacred Islamic Sciences, Idil falls in love with a magnetic woman, Zawadi. While Idil struggles to find harmony between all aspects of herself, Zawadi is at ease with her Tanzanian, Muslim, and Queer identities.

Back in London, Idil’s beloved father, Cilmi, is a well-respected member of the Somali diaspora. He attracts the community’s whispers when he develops a connection with a Sikh woman. By the time Idil returns, both daughter and father have irrevocably changed. They must grow apart before they can find their way back to each other again.