Illiyeen 2025

Directed by Eliyah Mesayer and Nanna Rebekka · Documentary · 12 min

A lone rider from the imaginary state of Illiyeen crosses an empty landscape and their reflections unfold in a poetic meditation on identity and belonging. ‘Illiyeen’ is the result of a collaboration between filmmaker Nanna Rebekka and visual artist Eliyah Mesayer. A black and white film work from an imaginary state of the same name, in which a lone rider crosses an empty landscape in a meditation on identity and belonging. The Bedouin term ‘Illiyeen’ refers to a heavenly record or register where the deeds of the righteous are written down and protected. But here, Illiyeen is transformed into an allegorical ‘state of nowhere and nation of everywhere’ beyond geographical or national borders.