Desert Flower (film)

Desert Flower
Desert Flower
	Film poster
Directed by	Sherry Hormann
Written by	Waris Dirie (book) ; Sherry Hormann ; Smita Bhide
Screenplay by	Sherry Hormann (screenwriter); Smita Bhide (script revision)
Produced by	Peter Hermann Desert Flower Filmproductions; Dor Film Majestic Filmproduktion BSI International Invest Bac Films
Starring	Liya Kebede ; Sally Hawkins ; Craig Parkinson
Cinematography	Ken Kelsch
Edited by	Clara Fabry
Music by	Martin Todsharow
Release dates	5 September 2009(Venice Film Festival); 24 September 2009(Germany);
Running time	124 minutes
Country	Germany
Languages	English ; Somali
Box office	$14,631,377

Last updated March 16, 2025

Desert Flower is a 2009 biographical film directed by Sherry Hormann. It stars Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins and Craig Parkinson, and is based on the Somali-born model Waris Dirie's autobiography.^[5]

Plot

The film follows the journey of Waris Dirie (played by Liya Kebede) from a nomadic pastoralist background in Somalia to a new life and career in the West as a fashion model and activist against female genital mutilation.^[5]

Cast

Liya Kebede as Waris Dirie
Sally Hawkins as Marylin
Craig Parkinson as Neil
Meera Syal as Pushpa Patel
Anthony Mackie as Harold Jackson
Juliet Stevenson as Lucinda
Timothy Spall as Terry Donaldson
Soraya Omar-Scego as Waris aged 12
Teresa Churcher as Nurse Anne
Eckart Friz as Spike
Prashant Prabhakar as Kami
Anna Hilgedieck as Tilda
Matt Kaufman as Burger Bar Manager
Emma Kay as Immigration officer
Elli as European Man
Nick Raio as Truck Driver
Robert Robalino as Cafe owner
Chris Wilson as Embassy Official
Safa Idriss Nour as Little Waris

Production

Asked about the scene where Waris Dirie really struggles with a nude photo shoot, Liya Kebede said, "Being nude really is a problem for me, so it was actually the easiest scene for me to shoot. I definitely identified with how she was feeling."^[6]

Awards

Festival de San Sebastián 2009

References

In-line references

↑ WÜSTENBLUME - Credits Archived 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine ftvdb.bfi.org.uk, Retrieved 16 April 2019
↑ "Smita Bhide - Writer/Director" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
↑ Peter Herrmann (film producer) at IMDb
Retrieved 16 April 2019
↑ Desert Flower Statistics, boxofficemojo.com, Retrieved 16 April 2019
1 2 "BFI | Film & TV Database | WÜSTENBLUME (2008)". BFI. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
↑ "Desert Flower/ Liya Kebede Interview". www.blackfilm.com. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

External links

African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT (license CC BY-SA-3.0)
Desert Flower at IMDb

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[1] WÜSTENBLUME - Credits Archived 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine ftvdb.bfi.org.uk, Retrieved 16 April 2019

[Smbhwrdi-2] "Smita Bhide - Writer/Director" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2012.

[3] Peter Herrmann (film producer) at IMDb
Retrieved 16 April 2019

[4] Desert Flower Statistics, boxofficemojo.com, Retrieved 16 April 2019

[Wtbl-5] 1 2 "BFI | Film & TV Database | WÜSTENBLUME (2008)". BFI. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2012-02-20.

[6] "Desert Flower/ Liya Kebede Interview". www.blackfilm.com. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

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