# ‘Halima,’ First Finnish Pic Ever by Black Female Filmmaker, Bags Fiction Project Prize, ‘Sauna Diplomacy’ Named Best Genre Project at Finnish Film Affair

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/halima-first-finnish-pic-ever-by-black-female-filmmaker-bags-fiction-project-prize-sauna-diplomacy-named-best-genre-project-at-finnish-film-affair/
- Published: 2026-09-25T07:31:41+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-25T08:12:24+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/global/its-alive-films-halima-finnish-film-affair-1236875378/
- Topics: Art, Cricket, Culture, Entertainment, Film, Geopolitics, Politics, Sport

## Key points

- “Halima” won Finnish Film Affair’s Best Fiction Project prize.
- It is Finland’s first feature directed by a black woman.
- “11 Hours” and “Sauna Diplomacy” also took major awards.

## Summary

Naima Mohamud’s warm comedy “Halima”, about a 10-year-old Somali girl adapting to life in 1998 Finland, won the Best Fiction Project prize at Helsinki’s Finnish Film Affair. The project marks a milestone as the first Finnish feature directed by a black woman, highlighting a previously underrepresented perspective in Finnish cinema.

Produced by It’s Alive Films, No-Office Films and Ireland’s Vico Films, the film draws on Mohamud’s family and childhood experiences and is scheduled for delivery in autumn 2027. Norway’s hostage drama “11 Hours” won the €3,000 Best Nordic Film Award, while Teenu Niukkanen’s Cold War-era comedy “Sauna Diplomacy” received the €2,500 Best Genre Project prize; Finland’s “Darkness Counts” was named Best Documentary Project.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.