BAFTA-winning actor Jasmine Jobson has been cast in the highly anticipated biopic ‘In the Shadows,’ which chronicles the life of female boxing champion Ramla Ali. According to The Hollywood Reporter, filming for the biopic has commenced in London.
Jasmine Jobson, renowned for her award-winning performance in the television series ‘Top Boy,’ will portray Ramla Ali, the trailblazing Somali-British boxing champion who pursued her dream against all odds. The film also stars Finn Cole (‘Peaky Blinders,’ ‘Last Breath’) as Jobson’s husband, Richard Moore, and Gershwyn Eustache Jr (‘Andor,’ ‘Small Axe,’ ‘Fortitude’) as Ali’s boxing coach.
The real-life couple, Ramla Ali and Richard Moore, are executive producers of the film. “In the Shadows” is described as a unique love story intertwined with a rich family drama, highlighting the challenges and triumphs faced by Ramla and Richard, a mixed-race couple navigating racial and cultural barriers. Their journey of shared strength and mutual support positions them as role models for a new generation.
Jobson expressed her excitement about the role, stating, “It’s a complete honour to take on the role of Ramla and to be trusted to help share her incredible story. 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 U.K. 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.”
Ramla Ali, who made history as the first boxer, male or female, to represent Somalia at the 2020 Olympic Games, praised Jobson’s talent. “I, along with everyone else, fell in love with Jasmine after seeing her incredible performance as Jaq in ‘Top Boy.’ She understands more than anyone the true experience of growing up in London and fighting for yourself and your place in this world. She brings with her an incredible amount of authenticity, rawness, and real emotion that can’t be taught. I couldn’t be more excited to see her embody me on the screen.”
Ali’s achievements include winning the first-ever professional female boxing match in Saudi Arabia and clinching her first professional IBF intercontinental title at Super Bantamweight at Madison Square Garden in 2023. She was also recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 2023 Women of the Year.
‘In the Shadows’ is directed by Emmy Award and three-time BAFTA-winning documentary filmmaker Anthony Wonke, making his narrative fiction film debut. The screenplay is penned by Ursula Rani Sarma. The film’s executive producers include Zygi Kamasa for True Brit Entertainment, Will Clarke, Andy Mayson, and Mike Runagall for Altitude, Anushka Shah for Civic Studios, Richard Fearn and Jane Reid Fearn for Affine Films, Natasha Mudhar for The World We Want Studios, Anne Sheehan, along with Ramla Ali and Richard Moore.
The biopic is set to be released in theaters across the U.K. and Ireland in 2025, promising to bring Ramla Ali’s inspiring journey to a wider audience.
