Getting to the Olympics is always a Herculean challenge, but getting to the Olympics with no formal training while your country is in the midst of a civil war is something else entirely. The real-life story of Somali sprinter Samia Yusuf Omar (played by Ilham Mohamed Osman) makes for compelling and empathetic drama here. Despite many setbacks and personal tragedy, this young woman receives support from family and loved ones and eventually finds herself on the biggest stage in the world of sports, the Beijing Olympics 2008, at the age of just 17. Her success, however, draws unwanted attention from the powers that be…
Adapting the Italian best seller Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid, director Yasemin Şamdereli tells Samia’s story through a delicate mixture of colour, darkness, joy, and adversity. The film recounts the inspirational story of a young girl whose example extends the rights of women around the world, offering moments of hope even amidst the brutality of war.
Community Partner
Ilham Mohamed Osman, Kaltuma Mohamed Abdi, Fathia Mohamed Absie
Italy/Germany/Belgium
2024
In Arabic, English and Somali with English subtitles
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
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
Yasemin Şamdereli
Yasemin Şamdereli is a German actress, screenwriter, and director best known for her film Almanya: Welcome to Germany (2011). Her latest film, Samia, was made with the collaboration of Deka Mohamed Osman and had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.
Filmography: Almanya: Welcome to Germany (2011); Together Forever – Secrets of 50+ Years of Marriage (2018);
Photo by dekamohamedosman
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Best Boy
Sibling rivalry is the name of the game in Jesse Noah Klein's pitch black comedy. Eli, Lawrence and Phillip (who's a woman) reunite after the passing of their father and, in accordance with his last wishes, compete for the prized title of "Best Boy".
The End of the Internet + Installation & Talk
Forget the cloud. "The net" is a far more accurate metaphor for the www. Filmmaker Dylan Reibling meets the hacktavists around the world fighting for the independent flow of information free from censorship and exploitation.
Lucid
Art student Mia is struggling with a make-or-break assignment, a self-portrait. It's only when grandma lets slip that her mom used to hypnotize her as a child to blank out the bad bits that she realizes the severity of the challenge...
Two Pianos
Once promising concert pianist Mathias (François Civil) returns to his native Lyon after a long absence. He's here to pay homage to his mentor, Elena (Charlotte Rampling). But a chance encounter with an old flame sends him spiraling.
The Richest Woman in the World
Isabelle Huppert plays cosmetics CEO Marianne in this teasingly ambivalent satire inspired by the Bettancourt Affair, when L'Oreal heir Francoise Bettancourt scandalized France by frittering away her fortune on a notorious celebrity photographer.