Ayaanle

2022
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

AYAANLE is a 21 year old, young man living in Nairobi who aspires to become an actor and reach Hollywood. Despite his conservative upbringing and coming from an impoverished background, he r... Read allAYAANLE is a 21 year old, young man living in Nairobi who aspires to become an actor and reach Hollywood. Despite his conservative upbringing and coming from an impoverished background, he remains optimistic about making it in the film industry and hopes to emulate his hero Denze... Read allAYAANLE is a 21 year old, young man living in Nairobi who aspires to become an actor and reach Hollywood. Despite his conservative upbringing and coming from an impoverished background, he remains optimistic about making it in the film industry and hopes to emulate his hero Denzel Washington. His life is turned upside down after a series of unlikely events that lead h... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

9.4/10

YOUR RATING

3User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 15 nominations total

Photos4

User reviews3

9.484

Featured reviews

10nasradahirm

everybody has to watch

This is a moving and very touching movie. It makes me cry because, no matter what, I am Somali, and I love my people. I am so sorry that we are suffering everywhere. It makes me sad that we are not only victims of the Kenyan police, who see us as walking ATMs, but even human traffickers in Libya think Somalis are ATMs. How stupid are they? If we had money, we would have stayed in our land. On top of all this, we are killing each other. I wonder when my heart will rest and when we will have a stable country. We love to forgive all those who treat us badly. The only way to show people that we are better humans than they are is to show mercy when they need us.

10haaruunahmed

Great Movie

With terrorism plaguing countries in the Horn of Africa, Ahmed Farah's terrorist-themed movie, Ayaanle, takes a critical look beyond the surface, attempting to challenge a stereotype that also implicates Western media.

In Nairobi, a young Somali man with dreams of becoming a famous actor gets caught up in an unfortunate sitaation. He's asked by a friend to act as a terrorist leader for international reporters. This is the scenario at play on Ayaanle, the feature debut from Somali director Ahmed Farah. The movie comes with a certain self-awareness. The mocking of international media and its troping of Somalis as terrorists is present. Western reporters, in their pursuit for convenient labelling, are scammed by locals impersonating pirates and terrorists.

10maryharper-32004

Out of this world

Ayaanle is a first-rate, can't close your eyes for a second movie. Unlike other movies featuring Somalis (Black Hawk Down, Captain Phillips, etc), it tells a real, fair and honest story of the lives of Somalis beyond the stereotypes of 'terrorist', 'pirate', 'starving person' or 'gang member'. It is subversive in a cool and clever way. The story is so compelling it grips you no matter who you are or where you come from. It shows how ethnic Somalis are abused in Kenya even though they are citizens of that country and its sixth-largest community. Corruption, double-crossing, unexpected twists, humanity, joy, tragedy and reality - they are all there.