When Warda Mohamed posted a message on social media that she had accomplished her characteristic movie script, she by no means anticipated it to vary her profession. “I genuinely thought it was just going to be a few people saying, ‘Oh my God, well done’,” she says. “I posted it at nine o’clock at night and thought nothing of it.” By morning, a commissioner at BBC Film had reached out, setting the wheels in movement for what would change into Muna – an 18-minute short movie that screened at greater than 60 worldwide movie festivals, received a number of awards, and has now made its approach to BBC iPlayer.
Muna tells the story of a British-Somali teenager, performed by Kosar Ali (Bafta-nominated for Rocks), who navigates a fancy mother-daughter relationship whereas mourning a grandfather she by no means met. Her grief mirrors Mohamed’s personal expertise rising up. “There isn’t an answer to [grief],” Mohamed says. “You have to feel it as you go along.” Ali, along with her deep connection to the story, was instinctively drawn to the function: “When I approach Somali stories, it’s always a yes before a no because there are so few,” she says.
Mohamed, who co-directed the play Dugsi Dayz in 2022, aimed to create an genuine illustration of British-Somali life. “For too long, Somali people have been portrayed through stereotypes in western cinema,” she says. “I want to show all of the beauty and richness of being British-Somali.” Ali echoes this sentiment: “It’s rare to find Muslim stories that aren’t warped with negativity, so I wanted to do it right.” However, reaching this authenticity got here with its personal set of problem; Ali, who helped supply a few of the solid, says: “The casting process was really challenging because of a lack of Somali actors. In the end, we had to street cast [approach and ask the general public] and use our networks to make it work.”
Beyond grief, Muna additionally explores tradition, household, and belonging. Ali, who earned her first government producer credit score in addition to enjoying the lead function, is very obsessed with the authenticity of the mother-daughter dynamic. “It isn’t about clashes of culture or religion; it is about two people figuring things out. It is a universal experience that many can relate to.”
The soundtrack blends up to date UK and conventional Somali music, with Muna curating the excellent playlist for her college journey. Ali provides: “I wanted to keep it fun and authentic to me. The music used and the dance scene was a true representation of me as a person, not just acting.”
Finding the proper oud participant for a scene with Muna’s grandfather was additionally a problem, but Mohamed’s persistence led her to attach with a musician in Mogadishu by means of her household. “It was chaotic but beautiful,” Mohamed says. “Shooting in Somalia captured the duality of being British-Somali and made it all the more worthwhile.”
The manufacturing was formed by Mohamed’s dedication to a faith-based film-making strategy to replicate the solid and manufacturing workers. “It was important for me that our set reflected the values of the community we were representing,” Mohamed says. “When you see the prayer scenes, they’re not just performances – they’re actual prayers.”
Mohamed displays on the obstacles she has confronted as a working-class film-maker: “It took more than four years to get funding,” she says. “One of the biggest roadblocks was people not understanding the story. They wanted me to focus on the wake, but I wanted to show it through the eyes of a young girl who doesn’t know why she’s grieving, or what she is meant to feel.”
“The people in positions of power don’t understand our stories,” she provides. “Representation is crucial – not just for the audience but for decision-makers too. We need people from different backgrounds in development, executive, and commissioning roles so they can understand stories that haven’t been seen on screen before.”
After its profitable pageant run, Mohamed says she heard from many individuals wanting to look at Muna once more or for the first time – so she is delighted the movie is now on the BBC’s iPlayer platform. “The iPlayer release feels like Muna has been given new life,” she says. “It’s been joyful to see different parts of the world respond and hear how people connect with Muna, her brother, or even the parents.” For now, Mohamed has set a brand new precedent for Somali storytelling in British cinema. “We have to keep making things, keep writing, keep telling our stories,” she says. “And hopefully, people will eventually see us the way we want to be seen.”
