The Amari Watergate Bangkok Hotel Film Series 2023 kicks off with a screening of A Girl From Mogadishu, at Pratunam Room on the 7th floor of Amari Watergate Bangkok Hotel, Phetchaburi Road, on Thursday at 5.30pm.
This is the first film series at the newly renovated Amari Watergate Bangkok as part of its "Meet Locally Connect Globally" programme celebrating cinema, cuisine and sustainability with a series of award-winning movies and sustainably sourced food.
Directed by Mary McGuckian, the inspirational film is based on the amazing life of Ifrah Ahmed, a Somalian refugee, who today is one of the world's foremost activists combatting gender-based violence.
The film takes us through her tumultuous life, from traumatised youth in war-torn Somalia, to dangerous escape from the country with a trafficker, to arrival in Ireland as a refugee and eventual rebirth as an activist.
We see her attending conferences, interacting with Irish ministers, and addressing the EU and UN. Her main fight is against female genital mutilation (FGM), which Ahmed herself underwent.
Ifrah's proudest moments are when her activism contributes to Ireland passing legislation to abolish FGM, and when she speaks on behalf of Ireland's MEPs during ratification of the UN Convention against FGM at the European Parliament.
The film has been screened at various festivals around the world. It won the Cinema for Peace Award for Women's Empowerment at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival; the World Cinema Audience Award at the Mill Valley Film Festival; and the Audience Award and the Jury Award at the Semaine de Cinema Britannique.
Before the screening, Ifrah Ahmed will deliver a video message to the Bangkok audience, while the Embassy of Ireland will organise a reception and the Ambassador of Ireland to Thailand Pat Bourne will introduce the film.
Admission is by invitation along with limited seats available to the public.
Email hotelforum2023@gmail.com.
