The Gravedigger’s Wife
Full (peak)
£9.20
Full (off-peak)
£8.20
Senior Citizen
£7.50
Member (peak)
£7.90
Member (off-peak)
£7
Member (Conc)
£6.30
U25 & Students
£5
Disabled or Unwaged
£5
Director: Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
Cast: Omar Abdi, Yasmine Warsame, Kadar Abdoul-Aziz Ibrahim
Year: 2022
Duration: 82 mins
Certificate: 12A
"A moving, sometimes quietly biting study of a medically and financially troubled family in crisis" – Variety
"★★★★ – gentle, funny drama of man and his sick spouse" – Guardian
"★★★★ – powerful Djiboutian fable about family bonds" – Observer
"an understated creation of flair and grace" – Sight & Sound
A triumph for Somali filmmaking, The Gravedigger’s Wife features an entirely Somalian cast, the story’s authenticity and grounding within its location elevates the highs and lows of this deeply moving film, a fight for survival filled with love and celebration of family.
On the outskirts of Djibouti, Guled (Abdi) works as a gravedigger to provide for his family. He works tirelessly, surrounded by the deceased as a cruel constant reminder of the reason he is doing this – to save his wife Nasra’s (Warsame) life. She has a worsening kidney infection that can be treated, if you have $5,000 to spare. Guled leaves his wife to be cared for by their son, as he searches for a way to raise these vital funds.
Our Wed 23 Nov, 7.30pm screening will include a poetry performance from Elmi Ali; a storyteller invested in the mediums of writing, directing, facilitating, translating, performance and education. Currently Elmi is working on No'Man, a long fiction work exploring masculinity and the nature of work in the 21st Century.
Somali with English subtitles.