Abdirahman Keinaan was born and raised in Finland, but he kept hearing the same insult: "Go back to Somalia!" In his new docuseries, he actually does.

"Keinaan, Go Back to Somalia," a co-production between Keinaan's own company Knaans and YLE Culture & Factual Content, just premiered at the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. Timo Korpi and Keinaan directed; Pertti Neuvonen produced.

"It didn't come from a place of anger because I've been hearing it my whole life. I grew up here. I was born and raised here. And then I thought: 'Ok, I'll actually go find out what's going on over there,'" Keinaan tells Variety.

The title is deliberate provocation. "[This title] provokes people. It definitely makes them react," he says with a laugh.

The racism behind it is familiar terrain. "Listen – I've been experiencing this since I was a child. It used to be face-to-face. Now, it's online comments. In this country, it's pretty normal, and I'm not the only one. I've gotten used to it, which is kind of sad," he says.

From YouTube Teen to Festival Premiere

Keinaan started posting content at 16. "That's when I uploaded my first videos on YouTube with my best friend. I've been doing it for eight years, and I started making documentaries two years ago. I travel around the world and tell people's stories. It has become a real passion," he says.

This project forced a reversal. Accompanied by cameraman Hamsa Hussein, he had to tell his own story: the story of someone caught between two cultures.

"I never talk about myself. Whether on YouTube or in my documentaries, I focus on other people. I've never been the type to open up on social media either. But when we were talking with YLE, we wanted to make a show that's different from what I usually do. It was supposed to be personal," he explains.

The transition was not easy. "It started to hit me when we came back from Somalia. I went: 'I'm talking about things I've never talked about before!' Sometimes it feels almost too personal. I'm still processing things," he admits.

He will return to Somalia – this time without cameras. "I just want to go there again and connect with the people," he says.

Fear preceded curiosity. "I used to be so scared of Somalia. I kept hearing terrible things about it, like that people were getting killed and that it was dangerous. Then, after a while, something changed in me. I started getting curious. This series will show people a new side of Somalia. I'm really happy about that."

A YouTuber Among Industry Veterans

A festival premiere placed him alongside industry veterans. Keinaan does not feel inferior.

"These are two different industries, but I'm all about learning. Nobody teaches us anything – we learn everything from YouTube. We just sit there and figure things out. This time, I was surrounded by a professional crew, and I think it's a good mix. The whole thing still feels like me," he notes.

He rejects any assumption that a YouTube pedigree means shallow work. "Just because I'm a YouTuber doesn't mean this show is basic. I didn't know what it meant to have your work shown at a festival or that people dream of showcasing their films this way. But if a story is impactful, it shouldn't matter who's behind it."

What began as a hobby has made him a role model. That still takes getting used to.

"There was a moment when I realized: 'People are looking up to me now.' When you do stuff for fun, you only see numbers and views. You don't see the people. But when they come up to you and say you're their idol, it starts to click," he says. "It used to make me nervous, but these days I just want to talk about things that interest me. I don't put additional pressure on myself just because others are watching me."

Living Between Two Cultures

Keinaan believes the timing is right for his show, because he is not the only one who feels torn.

"I knew right away that millions of people could relate to that. There's potential for this show to be sold to other countries, which is a good thing because we don't talk enough about what it means to live in between two cultures. What is it like? Where do you belong? What is your home?" he says.

He ends on the contradiction at the heart of the series: "Some people tell you: 'Go back to your country.' But which country?!"

With international sales potential and a second, camera-free trip to Somalia already planned, Keinaan has turned a lifetime of racist comments into a document of belonging – and an open question about where home actually is.