Synopsis : Samia is an assertive, independent young woman growing up in a place that isn’t very welcome to young women who are independent and assertive. Raised in a Mogadishu, Somalia torn asunder by civil war, all that young Samia wants to do is run. Despite the harassment from local militias saying women shouldn’t be involved in sports, running is a bright spot in her tumultuous life. Training in a deserted stadium, on a track pockmarked by mortars, she is determined to go to the Olympics like her hero, Mo Farah. That determination pays off when, at the age of 17, she’s selected to represent her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She returns to Africa with an even brighter flame burning to go to the 2012 Olympics in London. But circumstances have changed, and the path toward fulfilling her dreams is not the one she’d anticipated.
Festival History : Tribeca Film Festival 2024
Awards : Special Mention: International Narrative Feature, Tribeca Film Festival 2024
Director :
Yasemin Şamdereli
Producer :
Simone Catania, Dietmar Güntsche, Anja-karina Richter, Michele Fornasero, Francesca Portalupi, Martin Rohé, Joseph Rouschop, Riccardo Russo, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski, Iman Ismail, Christoph Fisser
Screenplay :
Yasemin Samdereli, Nesrin Samdereli, Giuseppe Catozzella
DOP :
Florian Berutti
Editor :
Mechthild Barth, Sebastian Bonde
Cast :
Ilham Mohamed Osman, Fathia Mohamed Absie, Fatah Ghedi, Elmi Rashid Elmi, Waris Dirie
Born and raised in Dortmund, Yasemin Şamdereli studied at the University of Television and Film in Munich. Her graduation film, KISMET, was shown at several major film festivals and won the Short Tiger Award at IFFR. Samia is her second feature film.