From fleeing Somalia's civil war to the Tokyo Olympics, Ramla Ali's story hits the big screen with Top Boy's Jasmine Jobson in the lead.
Somalia's diaspora has a new screen hero. Ramla Ali, the Somali-British boxer who escaped her homeland's civil war and went on to fight at the Tokyo Olympics, now has her life story on the big screen. The film is called In the Shadows, and it has already had a glittering premiere in London's West End.
Ali arrived in style, in a dramatic dress with a huge skirt of cascading black feathers. She introduced the screening herself, with congratulatory messages from Bear Grylls and Malala Yousafzai lighting up her phone while both watched from the audience. Still, the verdict she cared about most came from her mum, who was seeing the film for the fourth time. Her review? "She loves it," Ali said quietly.
Directed by Anthony Wonke, the film follows Ali's road to the Tokyo Games in 2021. Jasmine Jobson, best known for Top Boy, plays the boxer. The project has been framed as a positive migrant story, a counter to the usual narratives about refugees, and it shows what happens when a young girl from a war zone is given room to chase a dream.
The journey has not been free of pain. Ali has spoken about losing her brother and how that loss has shaped the person she became, admitting her life would look very different if he had lived. That mix of grief, grit and ambition gives the film its emotional weight.
For African and diaspora fans, Ali's story is bigger than boxing. A Somali girl who survived conflict, found a new home and reached the Olympic stage is now seen on cinema screens. Her story is one for the next generation to learn from.
