I was privileged to attend a small, private viewing of Ndoto Ya Samira over a year ago. Our small party also had the honour of meeting Nino, the director, and we discussed cultural awareness and non intrusive filming in a traditional Zanzibari community. The documentary is impressive taking over seven dedicated and sensitive years to film the life of Samira. The cinematography is superb and the film captures various Zanzibari environments and traditional life exceptionally well. As resident of Zanzibar and a lover of anything Zanzibari I loved seeing aspects of the island and its life on a big screen. Following Samira's journey on the screen was quite incredible. For someone to have dedicated seven years to sensitively fiming a young woman's evolving life and put it together in a documentary of an hour and a half, is quite a feat. Samira is an amazing young woman. A woman who had a dream of being a teacher and working in her community, a woman who also wanted a family. Her journey of fulfilling both dreams has not been easy. In the film she shows tenacity and despite many obstacles she perseveres towards her goals. This film is also about change in the world and how women in traditional societies are gaining a voice and working towards balancing a family life with a professional one. Samira is an inspiration and role model for all young female students to work towards their dreams. Recently, I missed a viewing of the film in Dar es Salaam, where it was presented to a cinema full of students, who were then invited to a discussion hosted by Nino and Samira. The response to the viewing was exceptionally positive. I really hope Ndoto Ya Samira has the opportunity to be shown in local communities in Zanzibar and that with any viewing there is adequate time for discussion. As a teacher, the film offers numerous discussion points about our evolving and changing world. It is a great documentary and I highly recommend watching it.