User Reviews

I was in Dar EsSalaam at the beginning of December when I bumped into a special screening held in a local cinema on Saturday matineé. I knew nothing about this film, as I was invited by an old friend of mine I visited in Tanzania and I went along.

Well, let me congratulate both the filmmaker and the protagonist who both introduced the film to an enthusiastic crowd of college students and also entertained us afterward with a lovely Q&A also in the company of the protagonist's family. It seemed to me more like a narrative film than a documentary with the filmmaker following Samira's life from 2009 to 2021 and recording her delicate transformation into a real African role model. What a journey and what a lovely, delicate film! Basedon my experience in traveling, rarely do you see the life of a Zanzibari woman Being scrutinised with such precision and delicacy.

There were a few holes in the storytelling but they added more to the value of the film as they force the viewer to play with his/her own imagination. If the main topic of the film is women's empowerment, I believe that the multilayered storytelling makes this into a special, one-of-a-kind film that is set in Africa and breaks down quite a few prejudices. After all, this is the story of a Muslim woman in her quest to achieve a fair share of happiness, while at the same time, her self-affirmation becomes an inspiration for the crowd present at the cinema.

I had the good fortune of viewing Samira's Dream at a festival in Italy last year, and can strongly recommend it to a diverse audience.

All too often, crucial issues such as socioeconomic inequality and the empowerment of women are addressed at a macro level with platitudes that dilute their human impact. In following seven years of Samira's life, Tropiano was able to capture the plight of so many in the developing world while still leaving the viewer with a sense of hope and possibility. I found this story to be especially relevant given how the pandemic has deepened inequality and further separated us from those who live outside of our respective bubbles.

The dedication required to complete this project under unbelievably challenging circumstances paid off and produced a truly special experience that will stay with me for many years to come. Not to be missed!

A little jewel, filmed with passion and sensitivity, a challenge that combines the courage of a director and a young woman from Zanzibar to pursue their ambitions (Samira to get an education, family, and employment and Tropiano to shoot her endeavor) for seven years, despite obstacles and with rare determination. 'Samira's dream' is a story of coming-of-age and emancipation captured with a surprising ability of immersion in the reality of the island, in everyday life but also in the intimacy of the young woman, taken while maintaining strict respect. The distance that Tropiano still manages to keep from the protagonist, and the absence of judgment and stereotypes - rare in a Western director compared with African culture - make the figure of Samira a universal character with powerful exemplary strength.

Although the film is set in Zanzibar, it could on one level be the story of a young person struggling to fulfil their dreams anywhere, which is probably why the film is so accessible. On the other hand, we are provided with very specific insights into society and daily life of this part of the world.

The fact that the story doesn't lag is down to the narrative skill of the director and the engaging personality of Samira herself.

A privilege to be given a window into the life of this young Woman. A true education. There are many riches here. But the film is worth watching if only for the husband wife dialogue toward the end. In a film about the importance of formal education and its ramifications, such interactions deliver glimpses of grace, wisdom and learning that we all can benefit from.

Apparently, I have to write more to fulfill minimum character counts etc. But I really have nothing more to add so I'll just waffle on here until I have fulfilled the minimum character count. Check out the Wham! Doc on Netflix!! : )

(2022) Samira's Dreams (Ndoto Ya Samira) (In Swahili with English subtitles) DOCUMENTARY

Documentary filmmaker Nino Tropiano stumbles onto an ambitious student, Samira and he decides to document her journey through a time span of seven years to become a certified teacher. From studying with her best friend, Shamsa to how she met and married her husband Mohomed to how she was able to handle her brothers and sisters as her dad had affairs with three different women.

What is interesting about this is Samira's culture and barriers she has to go through to get through to her studies to which she has barely passed as opposed to some of her peers who eventually give up and get married instead. Her studies also required money she often needs to ask her father for sometimes.

Just WOW! Truly a piece of art nowadays, you can really see how much work and passion there are beyond this beautiful docufilm. The objective eyes, the tecnique, the unique background of this small village in Zanzibar amd many more....everything was perfect.

The though, real life, Samira has to deal with to reach her dreams just disarmed me. Stop for a second and think how easy is for us to get what she fought for her entire youth.

This film just got me stuck to the screen and led me to many "real life reflections".

I had the honor to meet Nino Tropiano in real life and I think that nobody else could have done a better job. He really belives in what he does and i can say for sure that he put his heart and soul into this masterpiece.

His passion and skill are true!

Hope to see many more film from him!

I've seen "Samira's dream" during an online screening at the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York, and I immediately appreciated the gentle approach of the director Tropiano in this beautiful, dramatic and sensitive portrait of a woman in her long and hard "journey" to reach the desired dream. At the end of the screening I felt a certain sense of undefined freedom.

At Sports Development Aid Tanzania we consider Samira dream documentary as one of the best documentary to us, this documentary take us to another point of view by giving new challenges based on our field activities. The major issue shown on Samira dream documentary were found in our daily life and work and we live those challenges and usually we take as our matter because we are for Tanzania youth student to achieve their dream and Samira documentary opened a new way to our SDA Girls and Boys Actions Clubs which found in different schools in Mtwara region after watching it.

To us we take this documentary as a key to success of other dreams, most of the girls and boys fail to make their dream true because they don't have good mentors/mentor who can advise them to overcome challenges and to walk on their dream. Samira dream documentary will help us to give students of advices with vivid example of Samira also, on our field we teach students about sports based on gender equality, education and to empowered girls speak out. The Samira dream documentary brings effectiveness to girls and boys of Mikindani secondary school and they try to fight for their future dreams through Samira dream documentary, most of them came with challenges to us and their challenges based on Samira dream documentary example one of the student asked: how I can manage to study at university level and at the same time have a family? This was a challenge taken from Samira dream documentary, we gave her a piece of advice to give value to education and avoid unnecessary pressure from friends in order that she can reach her future goals.

Samira dream documentary provide the best answer to them on how you can manage husband or wife with learning activity at university.

Also Samira dream documentary help us on our field to give the students advices, to start planning and thin of deciding about their career from the lower level of education and to live on it until their dream come true. To choose career will help them to know the subjects to study in secondary and high level and this will make them to be active on their study and also will help to academic achievement. To walk on their chosen career will help them become more competence. Samira is good example, she walking on her career choose dream and end of day she make her dream true by becoming a teacher.

Sports Development Aid considers Samira dream as fantastic artistic way of educating and changing the Communities. We take in positive way by advising the student to take to time to recall what they understood on Samira dream documentary and to come out with major issue to focus on Samira dream. This will help us to get a good students and end of the end will be ambassador to others by encourage other students to focus on the dream. Through this most of students will change and start focus on their dream and end of the day will reduce secondary school dropout cases in mtwara region.

Samira dream documentary to us is very important documentary, because help us to shape our girls and boys actions clubs by assigning students task to write their own documentary and present it to us , the best documentary will be used as a sample to other students. Also Samira documentary brings positive result to the most of the students and starting struggle on their dream to become true. In generally we say thank you by giving us a chance to be a part of Samira dream documentary, this journey introduced new journey to us. Also this journey will weapon to us to open door and introduced many Samira in the world and their dream will become true.

A generous tribute to the Great Mother made by a man, as well as a film director. As a Christian Italian woman, I see Holy Mary's presence safely nestled in the dreams that women all over the world nurture as they deliver both humankind and their dreams. Those very same women who manage to bring to light the gestation of a dream and, as in all dreams, a force, a sort of John the Baptist that baptizes people and with his gaze can fecundate the seed.

Nino Tropiano's gaze, precisely because it's outwardly "masculine", is able to both fecundate and make blossom a woman who needed to recognize in herself those "male" qualities like virility and vigor, a part from docility, in order to fully welcome the flow of events while remaining still and strong to free herself from the constraints of a castrating society.

In Samira, the protagonist of the film, I see the tenacity of Saint Bakhita and the ancient power of the Black Madonna. As in every man, there is a hidden "feminine" energy, in every woman lies the "masculine" one. True education frees the female, which in turn frees humanity, educating to respect the power of the deepest recesses of the unconscious and Mother Earth without being overwhelmed by them, in an equal and erotic balance of these two forces, in mystical marriage childbirth takes place.

It is by recognizing and honoring the roots that can give lifeblood to the Tree of Life stretched towards the divinization of the human that the second birth takes place. Not least in Africa geographically and humanly is par-excellence the Black Madonna, where the heart of the Great Mother, who lived through everything humanly possible including sufferings and abuses and that every grace She can only dispense, loved by her Bridegroom who for the love for her, gives everything, crowned with thorns with Him, with docile female submission, in marriage with Him also unleashes the storm, which saw Jesus slumber, while all the blind were agitated.

Earthquakes shake consciences and lift them up. The film moved me from the first moment to the last. Ideally, to be screened in every school, not only for pupils but for the education of teachers, because of its beauty and the harmony of visual and sound form and the natural wisdom both gently and powerfully subversive of its content.

I can strongly recommend it to a diverse audience. Great job in Zanzibar!!

This movie was also awarded at the Babel Festival in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), a minority language film festival.

"Samira's Dream" has beautiful shots because of the originality in the choices.

Samira is a wonderful actress, too.

The subject is deeply touching and current, adaptable to different today's realities.

"Samira's Dream" is really a very nice film that I want to recommend to everyone and that deserves a large diffusion and circulation.

I hope that the world can see it in big movies' theaters, very soon.

It is impossible to watch through this film without reflecting on your times of adversity as well as your glorious moments as Samira wades through life's most challenging puzzles juggling education, marriage, career and a near-dysfunctional relationship with her father.

Sacrifices and compromises are made for her dreams to mature into reality as uncertainty on her future prevails before unfolding life's deepest secrets - what happens tomorrow? - as the film unapologetically follows her every step of the way to give the viewer a raw presentation of a Zanzibari girl struggling to get herself educated and further achieving to becoming an educator herself.

I was privileged to attend a small, private viewing of Ndoto Ya Samira over a year ago. Our small party also had the honour of meeting Nino, the director, and we discussed cultural awareness and non intrusive filming in a traditional Zanzibari community. The documentary is impressive taking over seven dedicated and sensitive years to film the life of Samira. The cinematography is superb and the film captures various Zanzibari environments and traditional life exceptionally well. As resident of Zanzibar and a lover of anything Zanzibari I loved seeing aspects of the island and its life on a big screen. Following Samira's journey on the screen was quite incredible. For someone to have dedicated seven years to sensitively fiming a young woman's evolving life and put it together in a documentary of an hour and a half, is quite a feat. Samira is an amazing young woman. A woman who had a dream of being a teacher and working in her community, a woman who also wanted a family. Her journey of fulfilling both dreams has not been easy. In the film she shows tenacity and despite many obstacles she perseveres towards her goals. This film is also about change in the world and how women in traditional societies are gaining a voice and working towards balancing a family life with a professional one. Samira is an inspiration and role model for all young female students to work towards their dreams. Recently, I missed a viewing of the film in Dar es Salaam, where it was presented to a cinema full of students, who were then invited to a discussion hosted by Nino and Samira. The response to the viewing was exceptionally positive. I really hope Ndoto Ya Samira has the opportunity to be shown in local communities in Zanzibar and that with any viewing there is adequate time for discussion. As a teacher, the film offers numerous discussion points about our evolving and changing world. It is a great documentary and I highly recommend watching it.