Dhalinyaro doesn’t tread the same paths of other African films set in Islamic countries. Instead of focusing on themes of patriarchy, tradition, or sexism that provides the main conflict in films like Papicha, Freedom Fields, Beauty and the Dogs, and Flesh Out, Dhalinyaro focuses on a fiercely independent trio of girls from modern Djibouti. Lula Ali Ismail’s debut feature, feels more like a companion to Celine Sciamma’s Girlhood or the first 20 minutes of Mounia Meddour’s Papicha with the friendship between three girls. It’s an impressive debut feature that is also the first film from Djibouti.
The main conflict of the film sits between the three girls. Their class differences are emphasized in the size and space of their houses, their everyday meals, and methods of transport (private vs. public). However, they’re also immediately distinguishable in the way that they dress. Hibo, a spoiled girl from a wealthy family shows the most skin, whilst Asma, from an underprivileged background is almost always fully covered. Deka, who sits in the middle in terms of class, is moderately dressed, serving as the middle ground between her two friends. Because she takes up the middle ground between Hibo and Asma, she’s the audience’s mediator in the relationship between the three girls.
Their backgrounds affect how they see the future. They all attend the same school, and are all good students, but the differing size of their support networks provide different opportunities to each of them. For Hibo, the most wealthy, her future is already decided. She will study abroad just like her sister, regardless of grades. For Asma, the poorest, her future is also decided. Her family cannot afford to send her abroad so she has no choice but to continue her studies in Djibouti no matter what grades she gets. Deka, our mediator, has the luxury of choice. She can decide to work hard and study abroad as her mother wants, or choose to study at home. In showing how the characters from different classes view their future, Lula Ali Ismail depicts the lack of class mobility in Djibouti. Asma will stay poor and Hibo will stay rich. Only Deka has the opportunity to change.
Dhalinyaro is a high school drama with depth and great character development. Hopefully it won’t be the last film we see from Lula Ali Ismail or Djibouti.