# Lula Ali Ismaïl (Luula Cali Ismaaciil)

> Lula Ali Ismaïl (b.1978): first Djiboutian woman filmmaker; Dhalinyaro (2017) is Djibouti's first feature.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/lula-ali-ismail/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is she?

Lula Ali Ismaïl is a Djiboutian-Canadian film director and screenwriter, and the first woman from Djibouti to produce a film ([Wikipedia, Lula Ali Ismaïl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lula_Ali_Isma%C3%AFl)). She was born in Djibouti in 1978, the youngest of eight children, and settled in Montreal in 1992 (same source). She worked for seven years as a legal assistant before taking acting courses and small television roles in Quebec (same source).

## Laan (2011)

Her first film, the 27-minute short *[Laan](/en/society/somali-cinema/)* ("Friends"), follows three young women in Djibouti ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lula_Ali_Isma%C3%AFl)). It was funded mainly by her family and friends, since the Ministry of Culture had no budget for it, and she also played a lead role (same source). It was shown at Vues d'Afrique in Montreal in 2012 and at FESPACO in 2013 (same source).

## Dhalinyaro (2017)

Her first feature, *Dhalinyaro* ("Youth"), follows three young women from different backgrounds and was filmed entirely in Djibouti ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lula_Ali_Isma%C3%AFl)). A co-production of Djibouti, France, Canada and Somalia, supported by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, it premiered in Djibouti in 2017 and is the country's first feature film (same source). See [Somalis in Djibouti](/en/diaspora/djibouti/).

## In short

The first Djiboutian woman to make a film, and director of Djibouti's first feature, *Dhalinyaro*.

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