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DESERT FLOWER
Germany, Austria, France - 2009, 120’, 35mm, colour - World Premiere
directed by Sherry Hormann
screenplay Sherry Hormann
(based on the best-selling autobiography of Waris Dirie)
cinematography Ken Kelsch
editing Clara Fabry
music Martin Todsharow
art direction Jamie Leonard
cast
Liya Kebede (Waris Dirie)
Sally Hawkins (Marylin)
Timothy Spall (Terry Donaldson)
Meera Syal (Pushpa Patel)
Juliet Stevenson (Lucinda)
Anthony Mackie (Harold Jackson)
Craig Parkinson (Neil)
producer Peter Hermann
production
Desert Flower Filmproductions
Kobellstr. 15, 80336 München, Germany
Tel. +49 89 72997860 - Fax: +49 89 72997866
www. desert-flower.de
world sales
The Match Factory
Balthasarstr. 79-81, 50670, Cologne, Germany
Tel. +49 221 539 709-0 - Fax +49 221 539 709-10
www.the-match-factory.com
press office
Richrd Lormand, World Cinema Publicity
intlpress@aol.com
Tel +39-06-9555-8033 (Italy) or +1-337-214-4815 (USA) or +33-9-7044-9865 (France)
In Venice (Sept 1-12): Tel. +39-06-9555-8033 Cell. +39-347-256-4143
synopsis
Waris Dirie’s life began in the African deserts and ended up in the modeling world. Born in a village in Somalia, to a nomad family of 12 children, she was subjected to infibulation (female genital mutilation) more or less at the age of five. When she was 13 her father sold her to a 60-year-old man. Waris did not accept her fate, escaping to Mogadishu then London, to the home of an ambassador uncle, where she worked as a maid. When her uncle was called back to Somalia, Dirie decided to stay in England. Alone and illiterate, she began working modest jobs. She enrolled in night school until the day photographer Terry Donaldson convinced her to pose for some pictures. Her life changed drastically and suddenly and she began a highly succcessful modeling career . At the peak of her success, Dirie found the courage to tell her story. Today, she is the official spokesperson for the UN campaign against female genital mutilation.
The story of Waris Dirie, a black model known from the Pirelli calendar and the covers of “Vogue”, “Elle” and “Glamour” is reminiscent of the Cindarella fairy tale. The director consciously plays with this cliché. Daughter of a nomad tribe, a Somali refugee, illiterate and unable to learn a new language, she can only tell time from the length of her shadow. She leaves her desert life for London, where she works at McDonalds. By chance, she meets a photographer who paves the way to her modeling career. Dirie fled from Somalia as a child – she did not want to be sold to a man – to ultimately become just a beautiful piece of furniture in the West. She sells her beauty in exchange for her independence. Only when she becomes a star can she tell the world about her utmost humiliation: her circumcision, the kliteroktomia, through which Muslim girls in Africa are turned into “true virgins.” Yet another paradox: she becoms a sex icon, whereas chastity remains her life ideal. All her life, she has been fleeing the traditional role of a woman. For her, relationships with men have always been reminiscent of rape and trading. She breaks her tribal taboo but inside is still a “desert child.” She loves her mother despite the memory of the pain suffered in childhood. Is she still the same person? The director successfully broke away from both Western paternalism and naïve primitivism. She leaves [Dirie] with her mystery of a double life torn between two cultures and two worlds.
Tadeusz Sobolewski
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PHOTOGALLERY |
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PROGRAMMING |
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| 03/09/2009 - 16:30 hours |
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DESERT FLOWER
Sala Pasinetti
Press, Industry, All accreditations |
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| 05/09/2009 - 17:00 hours |
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DESERT FLOWER
Sala Perla 2
Tickets, All accreditations
Followed by Q&A |
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| 12/09/2009 - 11:30 hours |
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DESERT FLOWER
Sala Perla 2
All accreditations |
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PB_Desertflower_ENG.pdf |
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