''The Gravedigger's Wife'' is a drama film, directed by
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed (born 10 January 1981), is a Finnish-Somali director and writer. He is best known for directing the feature film '' The Gravedigger's Wife''.
Personal life
Ahmed was born on 10 January 1981 in Mogadishu, Somalia. At the ag ...
and released in 2021.
[Kaleem Aftab]
"Review: The Gravedigger's Wife"
''Cineuropa'', July 7, 2021. The film is a coproduction of companies from France, Somalia, Germany and Finland.
[Lisa Nesselson]
"‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’: Cannes Review"
''Screen Daily
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...
'', July 7, 2021.
Ahmed's feature debut, the film was inspired by a death in his own family approximately a decade earlier.
[Marta Balaga]
"‘Finnish Cinema Is So White,’ Says ‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’ Helmer Khadar Ayderus Ahmed"
''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', September 15, 2021. It was shot in 2019, although release was delayed until 2021 because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and its disruptions of film distribution in 2020.
[
The film premiered in the ]International Critics' Week
The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...
program at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival
The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...
.[ It was subsequently screened at the ]2021 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz"TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’ ...
, where it was one of the winners of the Amplify Voices Award.[Steve Pond]
"‘Belfast’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award"
''TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
'', September 18, 2021. It was selected as the Somali entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards
The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its u ...
, the first time that Somalia had submitted a film.
Plot
Guled (Omar Abdi), a gravedigger in 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 ...
, is struggling to raise money to pay for surgery when his wife Nasra (Yasmin Warsame
Yasmin Abshir Warsame ( so, Yasmiin Abshir Warsame, ar, ياسمين ابشير ارسام; born May 5, 1976) is a Somali-Canadian model and activist. In 2004, she was named "The Most Alluring Canadian" in a poll by ''Fashion'' magazine.
Biogr ...
) becomes gravely ill with kidney disease.
Awards and nominations
See also
*
* List of Somalian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
External links
*
2021 films
2021 drama films
Finnish drama films
French drama films
German drama films
Somalian drama films
Films set in Djibouti
2020s French films
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