Desert Flower (2009)

The autobiography of a Somalian nomad circumcised at 3, sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN ... See full summary »

Director:

Sherry Hormann

Writers:

Smita Bhide (script revisions), Waris Dirie (novel),

Stars:

Soraya Omar-Scego, Idriss Abdillahi Houfaneh, Awa Saïd Darar

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Soraya Omar-Scego	...	Young Waris
Idriss Abdillahi Houfaneh	...	Old Man
Awa Saïd Darar	...	Amina
Roun Daher Aïnan	...	Waris' Mother
Osman Aden Dalieg	...	Waris' Father
Liya Kebede	...	Waris Dirie
Sally Hawkins	...	Marylin
Meera Syal	...	Pushpa Patel
Anna Hilgedieck	...	Girl in Shower
Lucrezia Phantazia	...	Girl in Boardinghouse
Craig Parkinson	...	Neil
Matthew Kaufman	...	Fastfood Manager (as Matt Kaufman)
Timothy Spall	...	Terry Donaldson
Prashant Prabhakar	...	Kami
Anthony Mackie	...	Harold Jackson

Storyline

The autobiography of a Somalian nomad circumcised at 3, sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation (FGM).

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Plot Keywords:

nomad | africa | circumcision | un | supermodel | 

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Taglines:

The extraordinary true story of the woman who crossed the desert and changed the world.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent content, a scene of sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

UK Germany Austria

Language:

English Somali French

Release Date:

24 September 2009 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Flor do Deserto

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,657 (USA) (18 March 2011)

Gross:

$44,348 (USA) (29 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desert Flower Filmproductions, Majestic Filmproduktion, MTM West Television & Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (35 mm version)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real Waris Dirie had a small role in the James Bond film The Living Daylights.

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Goofs

Lucinda (from the modeling agency) says to Waris she would be without broadband in Africa. Broadband didn't exist in the early to mid 80s when this story took place.

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Connections

Referenced in RTL Boulevard: Episode #11.70 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Without You (Glenn Morrison Remix)"
Music by Craig Armstrong and Scott Fraser
Vocals by Lucy Pullin
French spoken words by Laurence Ashley
Remix and additional production by Glenn Morrison and Byron Wong
© by Chester Music Ltd. by the courtesy of Bosworth Music GmbH, Berlin

User Reviews

This is a moving film which should have been more widely distributed

This film is an emotionally powerful film with memorable scenes that are extremely moving. It has the same elements that most Oscar winning movies have in that you feel real joy and pain. It's a shame this film didn't make more money than it did. It appears that it was basically set aside and not distributed like it should have been.

The character development of Waris is spot on. The back story in Africa is also effective in getting a glimpse of the complexity of issues and various injustices a young refugee girl like Waris deals with. The scenes in Africa are also beautiful cinematically.

There are a couple technical moments that could have been better that just reflect the budget it had to work with. IE the obvious green screen in front of the United Nations General Assembly and the ads of Waris on the sides of the buildings in Central London.

Somalia has faced unspeakable challenges in the last 25 years. The result of this is the suffering of regular people who have been caught in the crossfire. There are countless stories from Somalia that need to be told on the screen to bring awareness to this part of the world.

Matt Erickson Poet Nation