The Gravedigger
Spring Grants 2020 - Post-Production Stage
Khadar Ahmed / Feature Narrative / Finland, France, Germany, Qatar / 70 min / Original Language: Somali / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
Middle-aged Guled, a kindhearted gravedigger living with his family in the outskirts of Djibouti city, is working hard to make ends meet. His 13-year old son Mahad spends more time on the streets with homeless children than at home. His beloved wife, Nasra, suffers from chronic kidney disease and desperately needs an operation or she will not survive. In order to fund Nasra’s operation, Guled needs to quickly accumulate as much money as a gravedigger earns typically in a year. How far are Guled and Mahad willing to go to save Nasra’s life? ‘The Gravedigger’ is the story of a family that, in times of misfortune, have to push themselves to their very limits and summon enough strength to reunite.
Credits
- Director
- Khadar Ahmed
- Screenwriter
- Khadar Ahmed
- Producer
- Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff, Risto Nikkilä, Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Stéphane Parthenay, Robin Boespflug-Vonier
About the Director
Khadar Ahmed is a Finnish filmmaker of Somali descent. He has directed several successful short films, such as ‘The Night Thief’ (2017), which was screened at numerous film festivals around the world. As a scriptwriter, he has written, among others, the short ‘Citizens’ by Juho Kuosmanen (2008), which was awarded Locarno Film Festival’s second prize Leopard of Tomorrow and Prix Arte at Premiers Plans Film Festival in Angers, and ‘Unexpected Journey’ by Samuli Valkama (2017, written together with Valkama), which premiered theatrically across Finland in March 2017. ‘The Gravedigger’ is Ahmed’s first feature as a director.