Coffee & Allah

14m • Short, Drama • 2007

Directed by: Sima Urale
Written by: Suchi Kothari

Directed by Sima Urale (Apron Strings, O Tamaiti), Coffee & Allah is a is a film about a young Muslim woman in Auckland, and her appetite for coffee, Islam and a good game of badminton.

When Oromo Ethiopian Abeba Mohammed moves to suburban Mt Albert to unite with her sister under the refugee family reunion quota, she has nothing but her faith in Allah, a taste for Ethiopian coffee, and a zest for life to sustain her. From behind her purdah, and no knowledge of English, Abeba struggles to make a connection with the people of her new homeland. Nonu, a Samoan barrista at the local coffee shop takes a shine to her.

Coffee & Allah premiered at the 64th Venice Film Festival in 2007, before going on to win Best Film awards at the International Festival of Muslim Cinema and the 28th Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival.