The true story of Somali Olympic athlete Samia Yusuf Omar makes for a compelling and emotional drama. Growing up in poverty in Mogadishu, Samia may have been born to run but she was also born a girl — and as Islamic fundamentalists grow more powerful in her country she is forced to train at night, in secret. Civil war breaks out and father is shot in the leg. Eventually, she decides she must flee Sudan for Europe to pursue her dream…
Adapting the Italian best seller Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid, director Yasemin Şamdereli relays the story through some adept time-shuffling (the first time we see Samia run, she’s trying to escape people smugglers in the Libyan desert). Graced with a radiant performance from Ilham Mohamed Osman as the teenage heroine, the movie paints a vivid picture of life in a city menaced by armed militia.
A highly endearing portrait of a heroic fate… a luminous film which is accessible to all audiences.
Cineuropa
Yasemin Şamdereli
Ilham Mohamed Osman, Kaltuma Mohamed Abdi, Fathia Mohamed Absie
Italy/Germany/Belgium
2024
In Arabic, English and Somali with English subtitles
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Credits
Executive Producer
Piergiuseppe “Beppe” Serra, Karim Cham, Michael Kölmel
Producer
Simone Catania, Dietmar Güntsche, Anja-Karina Richter, Michele Fornasero, Francesca Portalupi, Martin Rohé
Screenwriter
Yasemin Şamdereli, Nesrin Samdereli, Giuseppe Catozzella
Cinematography
Florian Berutti
Editor
Mechthild Barth
Production Design
Paola Bizzarri
Original Music
Rodrigo D’Erasmo
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