Radio | News week in plain Finnish | Sunday 27.7.2025

Film director Naima Mohamud makes history

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In Newsweek we get to know film director Naima Mohamudi. She is directing a feature film in Finland.

Naima Mohamud makes film history

![Somali-born Naima Mohamud In the Oodi library.](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/c_crop,h_1328,w_2362,x_996,y_565/ar_1.777777777 7777777,c_fill,g_faces,h_431,w_767/dpr_1.0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1752749351/39-14948986878cf1b84ec8)

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Naima Mohamudi’s story is like something out of a movie. At the age of 14, she decided to become a director, set out on an adventure, faced challenges and supporters – and now returns home a winner. Photo: Berislav Jurišić / Yle

Somali-born Naima Mohamud is making history. She is the first black woman to direct a feature-length fiction film in Finland.

Naima Mohamud will begin directing the film Halima in September. It features parts of Mohamud’s own life.

Halima in the film is a 10-year-old Somali girl whose family moves frequently in Finland. She has no friends.

Halima escapes into a fantasy world where she is a big pop star.

The film has received support of 700,000 euros from the Finnish Film Foundation.

Mohamud became interested in directing at a young age

![Somali-born Naima Mohamud In the Oodi library.](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/c_crop,h_2638,w_4690,x_5,y_154/ar_1.7777777777 777777,c_fill,g_faces,h_431,w_767/dpr_1.0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1752749335/39-14948966878cf1a0b52a)

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Mohamud says she may be the first black woman in the Nordic countries to direct a feature film. Photo: Berislav Jurišić / Yle

Naima Mohamud’s family moved from Somalia to Finland in 1990. Mohamud was 2 years old at the time.

The family lived in Mikkeli, Järvenpää, Jyväskylä and Helsinki.

Naima Mohamud wanted to be a director even as a teenager.

He borrowed scriptwriting guides from the library and at the age of 14 offered a film idea based on the book Tähkäyö. At the age of 15, he offered Yle a script for a short film.

There were no contracts yet, but the experience was gained.

Mohamud was particularly strongly influenced by James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic.

![Titanic](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/c_crop,h_720,w_1280,x_0,y_0/ar_1.777777777777777 7,c_fill,g_faces,h_431,w_767/dpr_1.0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1447677400/17-387925649cdbd4f63a)

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Photo: James Cameron

Mohamud has studied a lot about filmmaking

![Somali-born Naima Mohamud In the Oodi library.](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/c_crop,h_2685,w_4774,x_0,y_602/ar_1.7777777777 777777,c_fill,g_faces,h_431,w_767/dpr_1.0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1752749294/39-14948916878cf16c0b62)

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The library has always been important to Naima Mohamud. That’s why she was photographed at the Oodi library in Helsinki. Photo: Berislav Jurišić / Yle

Naima Mohamud moved to London at the age of 18, where she earned a BA in film. She also studied filmmaking in Los Angeles.

In London, he had the opportunity to talk to director James Cameron. Mohamud waited for the famous director for many hours in the hotel lobby.

Cameron said important words to Mohamud: “You can face 20,000 people who say you can’t succeed. All you need is one person who believes in you. That one person can be yourself.”

Now 37, Naima Mohamud is married and lives in Dublin, Ireland. She is finishing a documentary series about children who are passionate about football.

He has made 3 short films, one of which has won awards at international festivals.

Repetition

The topic of the week was filmmaker Naima Mohamud.

She is the first black woman to direct a feature-length fiction film in Finland.

Mohamud hopes that children will gain self-confidence from the Halima film.

News week again next Saturday. See you!