My Brother Ali

The incredible story of a friendship that has survived pirates, tribes and above all, the cultural difference. For the past decade, Spanish filmmaker Paula Palacios has been following Ali, a young man who fled the war in Somalia at the age of 14. Their meeting in a prison in Ukraine in 2012 turns Ali's life upside down, but also Paula's. Shot in Ukraine, the USA, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, often by Ali himself, this film is both a coming-of-age story in an uncertain world and an exploration of an unusual friendship.

Paula Palacios is a filmmaker based in Madrid. Paula has produced and directed for channels such as Aljazeera Documentary Channel, Aljazeera English, ARTE France, Public Sénat, France 3, RTVE. Her first theatrical film, CARTAS MOJADAS (Drowning Letters) was supported by filmmaker Isabel Coixet and it premiered in Official Section at Málaga Film Festival winning Silver Biznaga Audience Award. It was also nominated for best documentary at Goya, Forqué and Platino Awards in 2021. In July 2022 Paula receives from the International Documentary Association the IDA / Netflix Global Emerging Filmmaker Award to support her second feature film, MY BROTHER ALI. From Madrid Paula also manages LA MORADA, a small arts & essaie cinema in the centre of the Spanish capital. Paula is A member of the Spanish Film Academy.

• – DocsMx 2024 – Doctubre Mx Competition / World Premiere (Mexico)
• – Seminic. Valladolid International Film Festival – Time of History Competition / National Premiere (Spain)