The Gravedigger's Wife Unclassified 18+
La femme du fossoyeur
Language: Somali with English subtitles
A man’s devotion to his wife is put to the ultimate test in this rare cinematic venture into the Horn of Africa.
In the tiny north-east African country of Djibouti, 45-year-old Guled digs graves for a living to provide a meagre subsistence for his teenage son, Mahad, and chronically ill wife, Nasra. When Nasra needs an urgent kidney transplant, Guled has just a fortnight to raise the money required to pay for her operation – a substantial sum that will propel him to journey across the desert and confront his past.
The first known full-length film to be made in the Somali tongue, Somalian-Finnish director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed’s feature debut – which premiered at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week – offers an insight into the lives of the impoverished labourers and homeless children who populate the outskirts of Djibouti City. Beyond its immediate story, The Gravedigger’s Wife also foregrounds the broader global realities of economic systems in which life-saving medical treatment is a privilege restricted to those lucky enough to afford it.
“A life-lesson whose poetic magnitude radiates like the sun. An ode to love, beauty and life.” – Cannes Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson
In Cinema
This session is bookable on a pass
For more venue information and for information about accessible services provided at MIFF this
year, please go to miff.com.au/access.
To ensure that MIFF can provide you with the best customer service, if you require any
accessibility services that MIFF offers at any MIFF venues, please book your ticket by emailing
boxoffice@miff.com.au or by phone on 03 9087 3395.
Key Cast
Amina Ayanleh Omar, Awa Ali Nour, Fardouza Moussa Egueh, Hamdi Ahmed Omar, Kadar Abdoul-Aziz Ibrahim, Mouhoubo Osman Eleyeh, Omar Abdi, Samaleh Ali Obsieh, Yasmin Warsame
Director
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Producers
Mark Lwoff, Misha Jaari, Risto Nikkilä
Screenwriter
Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Cinematographer
Arttu Peltomaa
Composer
Andre Matthias
Editor
Sebastian Thümler
Premiere Status
Australian Premiere
Format
Digital
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A man’s devotion to his wife is put to the ultimate test in this rare cinematic venture into the Horn of Africa.
In the tiny north-east African country of Djibouti, 45-year-old Guled digs graves for a living to provide a meagre subsistence for his teenage son, Mahad, and chronically ill wife, Nasra. When Nasra needs an urgent kidney transplant, Guled has just a fortnight to raise the money required to pay for her operation – a substantial sum that will propel him to journey across the desert and confront his past.
The first known full-length film to be made in the Somali tongue, Somalian-Finnish director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed’s feature debut – which premiered at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week – offers an insight into the lives of the impoverished labourers and homeless children who populate the outskirts of Djibouti City. Beyond its immediate story, The Gravedigger’s Wife also foregrounds the broader global realities of economic systems in which life-saving medical treatment is a privilege restricted to those lucky enough to afford it.
“A life-lesson whose poetic magnitude radiates like the sun. An ode to love, beauty and life.” – Cannes Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson
In Cinema
For more venue information and for information about accessible services provided at MIFF this year, please go to miff.com.au/access.
To ensure that MIFF can provide you with the best customer service, if you require any accessibility services that MIFF offers at any MIFF venues, please book your ticket by emailing boxoffice@miff.com.au or by phone on 03 9087 3395.