MY HOME OF WIND AND SAND is an intimate, decade-long portrait of Najla Mohamed Lamin, a Sahrawi activist, mother and community builder born and raised in the refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria. Her political life stretches from the sand of the camps to international forums, but the film stays close to everyday life: family, education, exhaustion, humour, work and hope.
Told through conversations with the filmmaker – who gradually becomes visible inside the story – the documentary refuses to reduce Najla to a symbol of a geopolitical conflict. Western Sahara is experienced through one person living its consequences in real time. Najla addresses international institutions, builds practical spaces for women and children, raises her family and continues to argue for peaceful resistance even as a generation born in exile grows older without a political resolution.
When armed conflict resumes after decades of ceasefire, the convictions that have shaped Najla’s public life are tested. The film follows her as she asks what pacifism, patience and agency can mean when history seems immovable – and whether one person can still create change inside circumstances that appear impossible.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS
World Premiere: Zurich Film Festival – Documentary Competition 2026
PRESS
The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Business Doc Europe, Deadline – Acquisition announcement
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY
Patrick Wally
Patrick Wally was born in Stockerau, Austria, in 1985 and studied cinematography and directing at the Film Academy Vienna. Working primarily as a cinematographer, he is also active as a director and independent producer.
His cinematography spans fiction and documentary film. Recent work includes Sebastian Brameshuber’s LONDON, which premiered at the Berlinale, and the award-winning series SHEEP, which premiered at Canneseries.
Wally is the founder of WyFilm, where he develops and produces fiction and documentary projects. His current productions include SHIMMER, a feature film directed by Michael Poetschko and co-produced with And and and Films, as well as Julia Zborowska’s feature documentary SECRET PLACE, on which he also serves as director of photography. He is additionally developing the feature film SEENEN with writer Paul Porenta.
MY HOME OF WIND AND SAND marks Wally’s feature documentary debut as a director, following his short documentary THE SEA YOU HAVE TO LOVE.
Filmography
2016 THE SEA YOU HAVE TO LOVE (short)
2026 MY HOME OF WIND AND SAND
CREDITS
With Najla Mohamed Lamin
Director, cinematography Patrick Wally
Editing Anna Kirst
Additional editing Daniel Rutz
Sound design/mix Eli Frauscher
Additional sound design Katharina Pichler
Sound recording Shirin Hooshmandi, Patrick Wally
Music Ahmed Zain
Color Daniel Hollerweger
Producers Shirin Hooshmandi, Najla Mohamed Lamin, Patrick Wally
Production company WyFilm
PRODUCER’S BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY
Shirin Hooshmandi
Patrick Wally
Najla Mohamed Lamin
Najla Mohamed Lamin is a Sahrawi women’s-rights, human-rights and climate activist, educator and mother of two. Born and raised in the Sahrawi refugee camps in south-west Algeria, she learned English as a teenager and began interpreting for foreign delegations. She later studied at Whatcom Community College in Washington State, focusing on sustainable development and women’s studies, before returning to the camps.
She founded and runs the Almasar Library Centre, which works with women and children on reading, health, environmental awareness, water, gardening and climate resilience. She has represented Sahrawi youth and civil society at international forums, including the UN Fourth Committee and human-rights meetings in Geneva. The BBC selected her for its 100 Women 2023 list, highlighting her work on women’s rights and climate justice.
During Greta Thunberg’s January 2025 visit to the Sahrawi camps, Najla accompanied and translated for her; they stayed in the same host home and co-led a workshop on climate change. Their collaboration continued in July 2026, when Najla joined a Western Sahara media-activism webinar hosted by Thunberg.
PRODUCTION COMPANY
WyFilm
Vienna, Austria
contact@wyfilm.at
https://www.wyfilm.at/
