Samia
World Premiere

Samia

International Narrative Competition
Feature | Italy, Germany, Belgium, Sweden | 102 MINUTES | Arabic, English, Somali | English subtitles
Women, Drama, Biography, Sports, Black & African American Diaspora Stories

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. 

Based on the true story of Samia Yusuf Omar, director Yasemin Samdereli brings Samia’s life to the screen with a beautiful visual flair and a warm, empathetic approach. Boasting fantastic performances, Samia is an inspirational portrait of a young athlete who won’t let circumstances stop her from reaching her dreams. And like millions of others escaping nations ravaged by war, she risks her life for the hope of a better future.––Jason Gutierrez


Cast & Credits
Directed by
Yasemin Samdereli
Director
Yasemin Şamdereli with the collaboration of Deka Mohamed Osman
Producer
Simone Catania, Dietmar Güntsche, Anja Karina Richter, Francesca Portalupi, Michele Fornasero, Martin Rohé, Joseph Rouschop, David Herdies, Riccardo Russo, Christoph Fisser
Screenwriter
Yasemin Şamdereli, Nesrin Şamdereli, Giuseppe Catozzella
Cast
llham Mohamed Osman, Fathia Mohamed Absie, Fatah Ghedi, Elmi Rashid Elmi, Waris Dirie, Riyan Roble, Zakaria Mohamed, Kaltuma Mohamed Abdi, Mohamed Abdullahi Omar, Amina Mohamed Ahmed, Shukri Hassan, Armaan Haggio

Contacts
Press Contact
Denise Sinelov
required viewing
New York, New York 10014
denise@requiredviewing.net
Press Contact
Steven Raphael
Required Viewing
New York, NY 10014
sterapha@aol.com
Print Source
Madeleine Lourenco
mk2 films
Paris, 75012
Phone: +33 144 67 3019
madeleine.lourenco@mk2.com
International Sales Contact
Fionnuala Jamison
mk2 Films
Paris, 75012
Phone: +33 1 44 67 30 30
intlsales@mk2.com
US Sales Contact
Fionnuala Jamison
mk2 Films
Paris, 75012
Phone: +33 1 44 67 30 30
intlsales@mk2.com
Press Contact
Alessandro Russo
US UFFICIO STAMPA
Roma, 00151
Phone: +39 349 312 7219
alerusso@alerusso.it
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