Halima wins top fiction prize at Finnish Film Affair
A 10-year-old Somali girl who wants to be a pop star has put first-time feature director Naima Mohamud on top at the Finnish Film Affair.
Mohamud's debut feature "Halima" was named Best Fiction Project at the 2026 showcase, according to Variety. The Finnish Film Affair is the industry sidebar that runs alongside the Helsinki International Film Festival, where unfinished films are pitched to buyers, festivals and funders.
The win carries history. "Halima" is the first Finnish feature film directed by a Black woman, Variety reported on 26 September 2026. Mohamud is a Finnish-Somali director and a former BBC journalist.
The story is set in Finland in 1998. Its central character is Halima, an imaginative 10-year-old Somali girl obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio and Aqua. She wants to be a pop star. She is also trying to fit in.
That clash drives the comedy. The project has been described as a heartfelt and warm comedy, according to Variety. An earlier report called it a partly autobiographical dramedy, a mix of drama and comedy drawn in part from life.
The film was in post-production at the time of reporting, the final editing and sound stage after the shoot. It is produced by It's Alive Films, No-Office Films and Vico Films. The Finnish Film Affair handed out seven awards across fiction, documentary and genre projects this year, according to Cineuropa.
"Halima" has been on the industry radar for some time. It was presented as a potential highlight at Locarno's Match Me! event, a networking meeting for new producers and projects, according to Variety. That 2024 report placed the story in a 1990s Finland of boybands and tamagotchis.
Mohamud has other work in motion. She wrote the short film "Camphor", about a reclusive Muslim scholar asked to wash the dead body of a stranger. It will be directed by Ayla Amano.
What makes this stand out for general viewers is the point of view. A late-1990s childhood built around posters, pop songs and playground politics is familiar to many. Here it is seen through a Somali family newly finding its place in Finland.
