SAMIA to Arab World premiere at 45th Cairo International Film Festival

Continuing its impressive run on the festival circuit, Yasemin Şamdereli’s sports drama SAMIA is set to hold its Arab World premiere as part of the International Panorama Program at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival, running from November 13th to 22nd at the Cairo Opera House.

SAMIA is based on the true story of Samia Yusuf Omar, whose journey inspired the bestselling book Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid, published in over a dozen languages and winner of the Premio Strega Giovani Award.

The film follows a young Somali athlete as she boldly pursues her dreams, becoming a symbol in the fight for freedom and women’s rights worldwide. Defying societal taboos, she races through the streets of Mogadishu, a city where women are not supposed to run. Her passion ultimately leads her to the Olympic Games.

Impressively, SAMIA portrays the fundamental issues facing the region, including the Islamist grip on women and the reasons behind the rising number of African refugees in Europe.

The 96-minute feature film world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in the US, where it won a Special Mention, and has since traveled to several prestigious film festivals and won multiple awards, including the Golden Silk Road Award for Best Director at the Silk Road International Film Festival and the International Audience Award at the Munich Film Festival.

A joint production between Belgium, Germany, and Italy, SAMIA features a talented cast, including Ilham Mohamed Osman, Fathia Mohamed Absie, Fatah Ghedi, and Elmi Rashid Elmi, known for his roles in DUNE and THE SWIMMERS.

Directed by Yasemin Şamdereli from a screenplay co-written with Nesrin Şamdereli and Giuseppe Catozzella, the film is produced by Simone Catania (Indyca), edited by Mechthild Barth — who garnered acclaim for the documentary ELFRIEDE JELINEK, winning Best Documentary and receiving a nomination for Best Editing at the German Film Awards — and lensed by Florian Berutti. mk2 Films handles worldwide distribution, while MAD Distribution manages distribution across the Arab World.

Yasemin Şamdereli is a German actress, screenwriter, and film director of Kurdish descent. After graduating from the University of Television and Film in Munich, she worked as a freelance collaborator for Bavaria-Film. Her graduation film, KISMET, was shown at several major film festivals and won the Short Tiger Award.

She previously worked as a directing assistant on two renowned Jackie Chan flicks; SPY AGAINST WILL and JACKY CHAN IS NOBODY, as well as the Turkish TV classic TURKISH FOR BEGINNERS.

Şamdereli also directed the acclaimed German dramedy ALMANYA: WELCOME TO GERMANY, which world premiered at the 61st Berlinale before going on an extensive tour of the festival circuit that netted 12 awards, including the 2011 German Filmpreis.