Khadar Ayderus Ahmed

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]

Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Born
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed

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

Personal 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 of the short film Citizens where he also worked as the second assistant director. Then in 2014, he directed the first short Me ei vietetä joulua which received critics acclaim. He later directed two more short films Yövaras (2017) and The Killing of Cahceravga (2018).[6]

In 2021, Ahmed directed his maiden film Guled & Nasra, which is internationally known as The Gravedigger's Wife. The film premiered in July 2021 at the Cannes Film Festival in the Semaine internationale de la critique. The film received critics acclaim and screened in many film festivals.[7] Later the film received two nominations at the Cannes Film Festival for Critics' Week Grand Prize and Golden Camera. 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.[8] The film became the first Academy Award submission from Somalia.[9][10]

Favourite films

In 2022, Ahmed participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. It is held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, by asking contemporary directors to select ten films of their choice.[11]

Ahmed selections were:

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
2021The Gravedigger's WifeDirector, writerFilm

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards Best Director The Gravedigger's Wife Nominated [12]
Best Film in An African Language Won
Best First Feature Film by a Director Nominated

References
  1. "SPLA: Khadar Ayderus Ahmed". Spla. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  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). 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. Balaga, Marta (15 September 2021). "'Finnish Cinema Is So White,' Says 'The Gravedigger's Wife' Helmer Khadar Ayderus Ahmed". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  7. Nesselson2021-07-07T10:52:00+01:00, Lisa. "'The Gravedigger's Wife': Cannes Review". Screen. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  8. "Khadar Ahmed accolades". IMDb. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  9. "Die Totengräber von Dschibuti". MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (in German). Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  10. 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)
  11. https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time/all-voters/khadar-ayderus-ahmed
  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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