Ibrahim Mursal | |
|---|---|
إبراهيم مُرسال | |
| Born | 1990 (age 33–34) |
| Citizenship | Norway Sudan Somalia |
| Education | Sudan University of Science and Technology |
| Years active | 2012- |
| Known for | The Art of Sin |
| Awards | 2020 Nordic Doc's best documentary film between 30 and 60 minutes |
| Honours | 2021 Nordic Film Lab |
Ibrahim Mursal Warsame (Arabic: إبراهيم مُرسال, born 1990 ) is a Norwegian film director of Sudanese and Somali origins.[1] He is known for writing and directing The Art of Sin, a documentary about openly gay Sudanese artist Ahmed Umar.
Mursal was born in 1990[2][3] in Somalia but fled with his family during the civil war.[4] In Sudan, he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Oil and Gas exploration from the Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) in 2012.[5] He completed a Film and Photographic Arts workshop at Goethe-Institute Sudan in 2012 which (re)kindled his interest in filmmaking.[6]
He was part of the 2014 TEDxKhartoum organising team [7][8] which was shut down on 11 May 2013 by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) without an explanation or warning after the NISS previously approved it.[9] He continued to participate in organising more TEDx events, including TEDxSUST.[10]
After 12 years in Sudan, Mursal settled in Norway.[6] As of November 2022, he is part of Groruddalen Think Tank [11] and is the owner of the Warsame Movies.[2][12]
After completing the Film and Photographic Arts course at Goethe Institute Sudan in 2012, Mursal filmed his first short movie, 50 piasters (Arabic: ٥٠ قرش). The film is an anthropology film that looks into a day in the life of a 50 piasters, moving to different hands, touching different lives, similar to the 1955 Greek movie The Counterfeit Coin.[13] The film was screened at the first Sudan Independent Film Festival.[14][15]
Stories that address the idea of ‘the otherness’ and the essence of identity became a common theme in Mursal's films as he uses his diverse background, growing up in three different cultures, and his quest for an identity, being accustomed to feeling out of place.[16][17] His films also examine the diaspora identity and how social movements, across national borders, affect the diaspora identity.[18][19]
Despite growing up in a religiously conservative community, Mursal's work ventures into progressive movements that challenge gender roles,[20] culture,[21] taboos,[22] etc. His films 2017, The art of being a sinner, A conversation with my gay friend and 2022 The Art of Sin (Arabic: فن الخطيئة) were delicate portrait of the Sudanese-Norwegian artist and LGBT activist Ahmed Umer, who campaigns for gay visibility in Sudan and seeks new form to express his new Norwegian identity while embracing being Sudanese.[23][22][24][25]
The Art of Sin won the 2020 Nordic Doc's best documentary film between 30 and 60 minutes.[26] Mursal received the 2020 Norwegian Art Council film grant [18] and was selected as Nordic Film Lab participants for 2021.[27]