Fathia Absie is a Somali American writer, Filmmaker and public speaker. She is a former Voice of America Journalist and an independent storyteller both in film and on stage. Ms. Absie's first film is Broken Dreams, a documentary that explores the collective outcry against the recruitment of the Somali youth in Minnesota by religious fanatics. The case brought unwanted attention from the U.S. government to the Somali community in Minnesota and around the country. Following the disappearances of the young Somali men, the FBI launched the largest US counter-terrorism investigation since the 9/11 tragedy. Her second film which she also stars with Douglas Sydney is a narrative called The Lobby, a story about friendship and cultural differences.
In 2014, Absie also published the graphic novel The Imperceptible Peacemaker, through the Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. An allegory on vigilante justice, its superhero protagonist and a tech billionaire creates a suit that gives him the ability to become an invisible force for good, fighting tyranny and injustice around the world.
Ms. Absie also worked with Twin Cities PBS where she hosted countless programs and the documentary, Giving Thanks! Fathia Absie is has also acted alongside Barkhad Abdirahman and Faysal Ahmed, from the motion picture film, Captain Phillips in films such as A Stray and First Person Plural. Ms. Absie is especially well known for showcasing short stories on Facebook as a motivational means for the Somali people particularly aimed towards the content starved youth.
These stories have been seen by millions of people around the world and are extremely popular drawing hundreds of thousands tuning in when shared on her personal page and shared through different social media platforms. Her latest upcoming film is called Pursued, a story of a young Somali American man who’s in the pursuit of happiness while he is being pursued by someone else.
Fathia is the Co-founder of Nour Village production and the Eat With Muslims project which is a dinner series that brings Muslims and non-Muslims together to share food and stories in the hopes of building bridges between communities and breaking barriers.
Fathia Absie was featured in multiple publications including:
