# Films about Somalia: Black Hawk Down, Captain Phillips and others > Foreign feature films and documentaries set in or about Somalia and Somalis: Black Hawk Down, Captain Phillips, A Hijacking, The Pirates of Somalia, Escape from Mogadishu, Desert Flower, A Girl from Mogadishu and more. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/society/films-about-somalia/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## Black Hawk Down (2001) Ridley Scott's war film, from Mark Bowden's 1999 book, follows the US raid of 3 October 1993 in Mogadishu, when two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down. Released in December 2001 and January 2002, it grossed $173 million on a $92 million budget and won Oscars for film editing and sound. Wikipedia notes that it was praised by critics but also criticised for inaccuracies ([Black Hawk Down, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_Down_(film))). ## Captain Phillips (2013) Paul Greengrass's film tells of the April 2009 hijacking of the container ship *[Maersk Alabama](/en/economy/ships-hijacked-off-somalia/)* off the Somali coast and the hostage-taking of its captain, Richard Phillips, from his 2010 book. Tom Hanks plays Phillips and **Barkhad Abdi**, a Somali-American from Minneapolis in his first role, plays the pirate leader Abduwali Muse. It grossed $220.6 million on a $55 million budget and received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Abdi ([Captain Phillips, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Phillips_(film))). ## Other piracy films - ***A Hijacking*** (*Kapringen*, Denmark, 2012), by Tobias Lindholm: pirates in the Indian Ocean seize a Danish cargo ship and the company's CEO negotiates for the crew. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival ([A Hijacking, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hijacking)). - ***Asad*** (South Africa and US, 2012), a short by Bryan Buckley about a fisher boy in Somalia, cast entirely with Somali refugees in South Africa with no acting experience. It was nominated for the Oscar for best live-action short ([Asad, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asad_(2012_film)); [Academy Awards](http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/85/nominees.html)). - ***The Pirates of Somalia*** (US, 2017), also by Buckley, from the journalist [Jay Bahadur](/en/books/the-pirates-of-somalia-bahadur/)'s 2011 book about his reporting in [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/). Evan Peters, Al Pacino and Barkhad Abdi star; it premiered at Tribeca on 27 April 2017 ([The Pirates of Somalia, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pirates_of_Somalia_(film))). ## War, flight and diplomacy - ***Escape from Mogadishu*** (South Korea, 2021), by Ryoo Seung-wan, is based on the escape of North and South Korean diplomats trapped in Mogadishu as [Siad Barre](/en/people/siad-barre/)'s government fell. It was the highest-grossing Korean film of 2021, at over $29 million, and South Korea's Oscar entry ([Escape from Mogadishu, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_Mogadishu)). - ***Watu Wote: All of Us*** (Kenya and Germany, 2017), by Katja Benrath, is based on the December 2015 al-Shabaab attack on a bus in Mandera, Kenya, where Muslim passengers protected Christians. It won a Student Academy Award and was nominated for the Oscar for live-action short ([Watu Wote, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watu_Wote)). - ***Dirty Wars*** (US, 2013), a documentary by Richard Rowley with the journalist Jeremy Scahill on covert US military operations, includes filming in Somalia ([Dirty Wars, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Wars)). ## Lives of Somali women - ***Desert Flower*** (2009), by Sherry Hormann, from the autobiography of the Somali-born model **[Waris Dirie](/en/people/waris-dirie/)**, follows her from a nomadic childhood to modelling and campaigning against female genital mutilation. Liya Kebede plays Dirie ([Desert Flower, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Flower_(film))). - ***A Girl from Mogadishu*** (Ireland and [Belgium](/en/diaspora/belgium/), 2019), based on the testimony of the activist **[Ifrah Ahmed](/en/people/ifrah-ahmed/)**, who campaigns against FGM. Aja Naomi King plays Ifrah, with Barkhad Abdi and the singer [Maryam Mursal](/en/people/maryam-mursal/). It won the 2020 Cinema for Peace Women's Empowerment Award ([A Girl from Mogadishu, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Girl_from_Mogadishu)). ## The colonial era and Djibouti - ***The Great Appeal*** (*Il grande appello*, Italy, 1936), by Mario Camerini, is a propaganda film backing Italy's war in Ethiopia, partly set in French Djibouti; Wikipedia lists it among Fascist-era African films such as *Sentinels of Bronze* (1937) ([The Great Appeal, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Appeal)). - ***Beau Travail*** (France, 1999), by Claire Denis, follows French Foreign Legion soldiers training in the Djibouti desert. In 2022 the Sight and Sound critics' poll ranked it the seventh best film of all time ([Beau Travail, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beau_Travail)). ## Read more - [Somali cinema](/en/society/somali-cinema/) - [Battle of Mogadishu, 1993](/en/history/battle-of-mogadishu-1993/) - [Barkhad Abdi](/en/people/barkhad-abdi/) - [Female genital cutting](/en/society/female-genital-cutting/) --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.