Guled & Nasra
By Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Sunday 09.01.22
Sunday 09.01.22
The Gravedigger's Wife is the first feature film by Finnish-Somali director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as Somalia's first ever Academy Award nominee.
About the film
Guled and Nasra are a happy couple living just outside Djibouti with their teenage son Mahad. Guled has a poorly paid job as a graveyard digger. When Nasra becomes ill and is told that she needs a kidney transplant to survive, the family's situation becomes severe: the operation costs as much as Guled earns in a year. How will he raise the money and at the same time keep the family together?
About the filmmaker
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed (b. 1981), is a Finnish-Somali director and writer. About the film, he says:
We are used to seeing African stories told through the lens of Western filmmakers. This has been hard for me. It's all about war and human trafficking - one-dimensional and stereotypical stories. I thought: Where is the love? Where are the love stories I grew up with and the love stories I have witnessed in my own family? I wanted to show that there is love in that part of the world as well.
Title
The Gravedigger's Wife (orig. Guled & Nasra)
Directed by
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Country
Finland, Germany, France, Somalia, Qatar
Year
2021
Languages
Somali
Subtitles
Norwegian
Duration
1t 22 min
