Lula Ali Ismaïl ( so, Luula Cali Ismaaciil) is a

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. She is the first woman from Djibouti to produce a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, earning her the nickname of "the first lady of the Djibouti cinema." The directed the 27-minute fiction short ''Laan'' (2011). The film was screened at the 2012 Montreal Vues d'Afrique

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

, and in 2013 at

FESPACO The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It ...

. In 2014 she started working on a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, ''Dhalinyaro'', co-written with Alexandra Ramniceanu and Marc Wels. The film, Djibouti's first feature film, premiered in July 2017.

Biography

Ali Ismail was born in Djibouti in 1978 to an Issa family, and in 1992 settled in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, as part of a wave of immigrants who left the poor and politically unstable African country. The youngest of eight children, she studied

office automation Office automation refers to the varied computer machinery and software used to digitally create, collect, store, manipulate, and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic tasks. Raw data storage, electronic transfer, and the management ...

, and worked as a

legal assistant A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals ...

for seven years, but developed an interest in the world of acting and cinema, and began to take courses on the subject.Clarisse Juompan-Yakam
Lula Ali Ismaïl, la First Lady du cinéma djiboutien
''Jeune Afrique'', 24 January 2014. At first, she played minor roles at several television series in Quebec, but found more interest in filmmaking.

Work

In 2012, Ali Ismail created her ''opera prima'', a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

(27 minutes) called '' Laan'' (Friends), a story about Souad, Oubah and Ayane, three young women in Djibouti who chew on qat"Laan, le premier court métrage de Lula Ali Ismail"
''Touki Montreal'', 30 April 2012. and seek love. Ali Ismail also played one of the lead roles in it. The film described everyday life in her country. It was the first film directed by a woman from Djibouti. Ali Ismail relates that the funds needed for this film were raised mainly with the help of her family and friends. When she arrived in Djibouti, she contacted the Ministry of Culture for support, but the government did not have a budget for such projects. Nevertheless, she carried on with the project, thus setting the cornerstone of a film industry in the country. The film has been shown at different festivals in Africa, Europe and North America, and has been well received by the critics.SOMALI FILMAKER LULA ALI ISMAIL PUTS HER COUNTRY OF DJIBOUTI ON THE CINEMATIC MAP WITH HER FIRST FEATURE-LENGTH FILM, DHALINYARO
/ref> In 2014, Ali Ismail filmed her first full-length movie, ''Dhalinyaro'' (Youth). The film follows three young women from different socio-economic backgrounds. It was supported by the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

, and was co-produced in Canada,

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, France and Djibouti, where it was filmed in its entirety. The film was premiered in 2017 in Djibouti, and it was attended by the ministers of Education, Communication and Culture.

Filmography

* '' Laan'', 2011 * '' Dhalinyaro'' / ''Jeunesse'' outh 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Lula Ali Djiboutian women Djiboutian film directors Djiboutian emigrants to Canada Canadian women film directors 1978 births Living people Film directors from Montreal