Somali Film Life on the Horn Lands World Premiere at 42nd Cairo International Film Festival

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Somali Film Life on the Horn Lands World Premiere at 42nd Cairo International Film Festival


The Somali short film Life on the Horn by director Mo Harawe has been selected for world premiere at the 42nd Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) where it competes in the Cinema of Tomorrow competition. The film will be screened with English and Arabic subtitles in the attendance of the film’s director Mo Harawe.

Due to Covid-19 safety precautions, the 42nd edition of Cairo International Film Festival has decreased the number of the participating films by half, making the final total of the films around 84 from across 43 countries. The screenings will take place at Cairo Opera House and Zamalek Cinema.

Life on the Horn sheds light on the issue of the hazardous nuclear waste being released on Somalia’s shores through the story of a young Somali who follows his daily routine in the face of an existential threat coming from the shores.

Written and directed by Mo Harawe who also co-produced it with Alexander von Piechowski and Deko Adano Ali, Life on the Horn stars Xuseen Abdirisaaq, Maxamed Axmed Maxamed and Faadumo Abshir. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world.

Mo Harawe is a Somali director, based in Austria. He kicked off his journey as a director in Austria in 2009. Harawe has joined a number of filmmaking workshops and made five short films that were selected and awarded at several international film festivals. Aside from directing, Mo Harawe is a scriptwriter who wrote several feature-length films including To Mogadishu that won the Dor Film award at the Diagonale in 2016. His new feature film The Village Next to Paradise is now in development.