Khadar Ayderus Ahmed

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Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Born
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed

(1981-01-10) 10 January 1981 (age 44)
Mogadishu, Somalia
NationalitySomali
Finnish
Occupation(s)Director, Writer, Assistant director
Years active2008–present

Khadar Ayderus Ahmed (born 10 January 1981), is a Finnish-Somali director and writer. [1] He is best known for directing the feature film The Gravedigger's Wife . [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Ahmed was born on 10 January 1981 in Mogadishu, Somalia. At the age of 16, he moved to Finland as a refugee with his family. [2] [4] [5]

Career

In 2008, he wrote the script the award-winning short film Citizens directed by Juho Kuosmanen for which he also served as second assistant director. [6] Then in 2014, he directed hist first short Me ei vietetä joulua which received critical acclaim. He later directed two more shorts: Yövaras (2017) and The Killing of Cahceravga (2018). [7]

In 2021, Ahmed directed his first feature film The Gravedigger's Wife (Guled & Nasra). The film premiered in July 2021 in the Critics' Week section at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Critics' Week Grand Prize and Caméra d'Or. The film received wide critical acclaim and screened in multiple film festivals, including FESPACO where it won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, the festival's top prize. [8] The film was also nominated for the Grand-Prix Award under the International Competition at the Kyiv International Short Film Festival. Then in the same year, he was again nominated for the Amplify Voices Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. [9] The film became the first Somali submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. [10] [11]

Filmography

YearFilmRoleGenreRef.
2008CitizensSecond assistant director, WriterShort film
2014Me ei vietetä jouluaDirector, writerShort film
2017Unexpected JourneyScreenwriter, StoryFilm
2017YövarasDirector, writerShort film
2019The Killing of CahceravgaDirector, writerShort film
2021 The Gravedigger's Wife Director, writerFilm

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards Best Director The Gravedigger's WifeNominated [12]
Best Film in An African Language Won
Best First Feature Film by a DirectorNominated

References

  1. ↑ "SPLA: Khadar Ayderus Ahmed". Spla. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Interview with director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed : La Semaine de la Critique of Festival de Cannes". Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "'We are a nation of stories and poems': Khadar Ayderus Ahmed on The Gravedigger's Wife". Seventh Row. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "Cannesissa kilpailee kaksi suomalaista teosta – tänään nähty Guled & Nasra pääsi sarjaan, johon suomalaista pitkää elokuvaa ei ole ennen valittu". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Elokuvat: Suomalaisen Khadar Ahmedin ohjaama Guled & Nasra pääsi Cannesin elokuvajuhlille – Ensimmäinen pitkä suomalaiselokuva, joka esitetään festivaalin arvostetussa kriitikkosarjassa". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "The Gravedigger's Wife's director on his film journey to Cannes". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Bałaga, Marta (15 September 2021). "'Finnish Cinema Is So White,' Says 'The Gravedigger's Wife' Helmer Khadar Ayderus Ahmed". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Nesselson2021-07-07T10:52:00+01:00, Lisa. "'The Gravedigger's Wife': Cannes Review". Screen. Retrieved 8 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Khadar Ahmed accolades". IMDb. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Die Totengräber von Dschibuti". MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (in German). 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  11. ↑ Yossman, Patrick Frater,Leo Barraclough,K J.; Frater, Patrick; Barraclough, Leo; Yossman, K. J. (6 October 2021). "Oscars Race: Taiwan Selects 'The Falls' for International Feature Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Banjo, Noah (29 October 2021). "FULL LIST: Ayinla, Omo Ghetto: The Saga bag multiple nominations at AMAA 2021". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
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