Written By: MIM!—Desert Flower, the biopic about model Waris Dirie starring Liya Kebede in the title role, has made its way Stateside, and is in limited release across the United States. If the trailer below doesn't convince you just how powerful this story is, read our interview with Waris from October 2005: The Truth About FGM. The critics are also moved. The New York Times writes, “The film, based on Ms. Dirie’s memoir of the same title, is heartening both for Ms. Dirie’s rise-and-overcome tale and for the reminder that a helping hand from a stranger can still occasionally be found in this unkind world. But, of course, it’s also disheartening because of what was done to Ms. Dirie, a moment revisited in a hard-to-watch flashback. The film makes bluntly clear that this is a trauma that lasts a lifetime.” This Day Live echoed similar sentiments, “It is hard to sit through Desert Flower without the nagging thought about the inhumanity of the female genital mutilation, or FGM for short. It is also hard not to credit Waris with not only the courage of escaping from the clutches of this bestiality, but also for telling the world her story.”
Desert Flower (Wüstenblume) - Trailer English from MajesticFilm on Vimeo.
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