Finnish Somali filmmaker Khadar Ayderus Ahmed , whose debut feature “The Gravedigger’s Wife” premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2021, is developing his follow-up, “Thundering Smoke,” which follows a middle-aged Somali hitwoman who returns to her village to seek vengeance against a ruthless crime boss.

Ahmed will be presenting the project at Finnish Film Affair , an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, which takes place Sept. 24 – 26.

“Thundering Smoke” is set in a Somali village where Barni, a mysterious hitwoman in her fifties, dramatically resurfaces years after vanishing without a trace. There she is intent on getting revenge on a vicious gangster, Ardo, who rules the village with an iron fist.

One fateful night, a young

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