In 2021, Ramla Ali was the first boxer, male or female, to represent Somalia at the Olympic Games. 

It would be a remarkable feat for anyone, but for Somali British boxer Ramla Ali, it’s just one in a line of incredible accomplishments. A biopic helmed by Top Boy star Jasmine Jobson, which has just started filming, will detail those achievements – and what it took to get there. 

The news of this film arrives at a timely moment when we’re both gripped by the achievements at the Paris Olympic Games but also as the nation feels more fractured and broken than ever, so it’s particularly welcome. 

Here’s what we know about In The Shadows...

What is the plot of In The Shadows?

Ali and her family arrived in London from war-torn Somalia. They fled the country first to Kenya, then the UK, after the civil war and the death of her brother. The family settled in Bethnal Green in east London, where Ali took up boxing to escape the bullying she often faced, keeping the sport from her parents. 

The film will be both a sports drama and a coming-of-age story as it follows Ali becoming the first Somali British professional boxing champion, her journey within a strict Muslim family and meeting her now husband, her former boxing coach, Richard Jones. 

Although Ali is an exec-producer on the film alongside her husband, she wasn’t initially keen to bring her story to life on screen, as she told Stylist back in 2019

“I really wasn’t into the idea at first because it just felt so exposing,” she told Stylist. “I didn’t want my life put out there for everyone to see. But I’ll hand it to the producer, Lee Magiday [who produced The Favourite] – she was persistent! She came to watch me compete, she took me for dinner, she met my family – over a period of two years she didn’t let it go and now she feels like family. So, I thought: You know what, if my story’s going to be made by anyone, I want it to be her.” 

Persistence clearly pays off, and we’re very grateful…

Who stars in In The Shadows? 

Jasmine Jobson, like Ali, also grew up in London and has become renowned for playing unflinching and real stories, making her uniquely placed to bring this story to life. 

“It’s a complete honour to take on the role of Ramla and to be trusted to help share her incredible story,” says Jobson. “Not only to celebrate her talent, strength and determination as a boundary-breaking athlete, but also as an incredibly inspirational Somali woman who has overcome huge adversity. Her experience of arriving in the UK as a refugee is important and has the power to educate and empower people at a time of so much division. I’m thrilled to get started.”

The Bafta award-winning actor will star alongside Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders) as Ali’s husband, Richard, while Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (Small Axe) plays her boxing coach.

When is In The Shadows released?

The biopic has just started filming in London, but we will keep you updated when we know more about its release. 

Images: Jurga Ramonaite; Charlie Hyams; Netflix