# Barni Ahmed Qaasim (Barni Axmed Qaasim)

> Barni Ahmed Qaasim: Somali documentary filmmaker in Arizona, director of Catching Babies.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/barni-ahmed-qaasim/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is she?

Barni Ahmed Qaasim is a Somali multimedia artist and filmmaker whose work covers photo and video journalism, music videos and documentaries ([Wikipedia, Barni Ahmed Qaasim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barni_Ahmed_Qaasim)). She holds a BA in political science and an MA in broadcasting (same source).

## Film work

From 2004 to 2009 she belonged to Third World Majority, a media collective in Oakland, California, and later became its director of production ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barni_Ahmed_Qaasim)). From 2008 to 2012 she taught video production to young people for *Seventh Native American Generation* magazine (same source).

Her first documentary, *A Little Rebirth*, was about her Somali community and won an award from the Somali Association of Arizona (same source). She directed and produced *Catching Babies*, a feature documentary on midwifery on the US-Mexico border, which won the Excellence in Documenting Women's Health prize from Puente a la Salud in 2013 (same source). She was associate producer of *Under Arpaio*, which won Best of Arizona at the 2012 Arizona International Film Festival (same source).

## Community

She has worked with the Somali Association of Arizona since 2006 and sits on its board (same source). See [Somalis in Phoenix](/en/diaspora/phoenix/).

## In short

A Somali filmmaker in Arizona whose documentaries cover her community and women's health.

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