Samia, biopic directed by Turkish-German director Yasemin Samdereli, will be released in Italy on December 5.
The film received a special mention in the "Best International Narrative Competition" section at New York’s prestigious Tribeca Film Festival 2024 and successfully participated in important film festivals and events including Rome Film Fest and the European Film Festival.
Based on the bestseller by Giuseppe Catozzella, Samia brings to the big screen the true story of sprinter Samia Yusuf Omar (Ilham Mohamed Osman), born in Mogadishu, Somalia, during a terrible civil war. At the age of 9, Samia discovered her great talent: she runs faster than everyone else. She challenges the taboos of Islamic fundamentalism by starting to run on the streets of Mogadishu, in a society where women are not allowed to run, managing to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing where she became a global symbol in the fight for freedom and women's rights. After Beijing, the only way for Samia to keep running is to leave Somalia and head for Europe, with the dream of participating in the 2012 London Olympics.
Also shot in Turin, Piedmont, and Taranto, Castellaneta and the surrounding areas in Apulia, Samia is a co-production between Italy, Germany and Belgium. Produced by Indyca with Rai Cinema, Neue Bioskop Film, Tarantula, Bim Produzione, in co-production with Momento Film, Voo, Be tv and Shelter Prod, Film I Väst, in collaboration with The Piranesi Experience and Cinepost.
The film was made with support from the Ministry of Culture, with the contribution of Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Apulia Film Fund of the Apulia Film Commission and Regione Puglia using resources from POR Puglia FESR-FSE 2014/2020, Eurimage - Council of Europe and Europa Creativa Media Programme.