Cinema of Somalia
Encyclopedia
The cinema of Somalia refers to the film industry
in Somalia
. The earliest forms of public film display in the country were Italian newsreel
s of key events during the colonial period. Growing out of the Somali people
's rich storytelling tradition, the first few feature-length Somali films and cinematic festivals emerged in the early 1960s, immediately after independence. Following the creation of the Somali Film Agency
(SFA) regulatory body in 1975, the local film scene began to expand rapidly. In the 1970s and early 1980s, popular musicals known as Riwaayado were the main driving force behind the Somali movie industry. Epic and period films as well as international co-productions followed suit, facilitated by the proliferation of video
technology and national television networks. In the 1990s and 2000s, a new wave of more entertainment-oriented movies emerged. Referred to as Somaliwood
, this upstart, youth-based cinematic movement has energized the Somali film industry and in the process introduced innovative storylines, marketing strategies and production techniques.
Storytelling is an ancient custom in Somali culture
. Love of cinema in Somalia is but a modern, visual incarnation and continuation of this well-established oral tradition.
The earliest forms of public film display in Somalia were Italian newsreel
s of key events during the colonial period in Italian Somaliland
. Examples of such works include Somalia: Gheledi (1913), Somalia italiana (1913), Somalia: Le bellezze del fiume Nebi (1913), Sotto la Croce del Sud - Somalia Italiana (1926), Visioni della Somalia italiana (1929) and Viaggio di S.M. il Re in Somalia (novembre-dicembre 1934) (1934).
In the 1940s and 1950s, early Somali actors and film technicians co-operated with Italian crews to domestically produce Fascist films. Among the latter productions were Dub'aad and Soldiers of Bronze.
In 1961, one of the first Somali feature films to be released was Love Does Not Know Obstacles by Hussein Mabrouk.
During that same year, the Somali-Chinese
collaboration The Horn of Africa won the highest prize at the 4th International African Film Festival held annually in Mogadishu
, the nation's capital.
The Somali director Hadj Mohamed Giumale ("Hajji Cagakombe") would produce the popular film Miyo Iyo Magaalo ("Town and Village") a few years later. In 1966, he and other Somali filmmakers also played an integral part in helping to establish the continent-wide Fédération Pan-Africaine des Cinéastes (FEPACI).
In 1969, another long feature film titled Pastoral and Urban Life was released by the director Mohammed Goma Ali.
In 1973, Idriss Hassan Dirie directed Dan Iyo Xarrago ("Reality & Myth"). An early full-length film, it was processed in the Technicolor studios in Rome
.
Following a bloodless military coup d'état
in 1969, the production, distribution and importation of films in the country were nationalized
by the newly-established Supreme Revolutionary Council
. Privately-owned movie theaters were subsequently replaced with government-controlled film houses, and about 500 films were projected annually.
In 1975, the Somali Film Agency
(SFA), the nation's film regulatory body, was established. An adjunct to the federal Ministry of Information and National Guidance, it grew out of the Ministry's visual aids arm. The SFA's duties included overseeing the importation, distribution and censorship of movies in the country. It later also oversaw the production of both long and short films. Most of the imported films were brought in from Egypt
, Italy
, the Soviet Union
and East Germany. To facilitate processing and post-production, the SFA also forged a working partnership with British Films LTD, a British movie company.
A new generation of film director
s, camera operator
s, cinematographer
s and sound engineer
s subsequently emerged, most having been trained in Egypt, Italy, the Soviet Union, West Germany
, East Germany, India
and the United Kingdom
. Amongst the latter filmmakers were Abdi Ali Geedi, Hassan Mohamed Osman, Ibrahim Awad, Ibrahim "Cunshur", Fuad Abdulaziz, Cumar Cabdalla, Mohamed Fiqi and Muxiyadiin Qaliif.
Between 1970 and 1982, over 30 short feature films, documentaries and newsreels were made. Produced on a weekly and monthly basis, they were processed mostly in Egypt and were referred to as Somaaliya oo Sawir'ah ("Somalia in the picture"). These short film productions were exhibited in 120 cinema halls throughout the country before the main attraction was projected.
referred to as Riwaayado were the main driving force behind the Somali film industry.
In 1983, the feature-length film A Somali Dervish was released. Centering on the revolutionary Dervish State
and its influential leader, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan (the "Mad Mullah"), the movie had as an assistant co-director the cineaste Abdulkadir Ahmed Said
.
In 1984, the Somali dramatist and filmmaker Said Salah released the feature film The Somali Darwish, starring Amar Sneh.
The same year, the Somali Studies
scholar Charles Geshekter produced The Parching Winds of Somalia
. Shot on location in Somalia, the film examines how the country's nomad
ic inhabitants managed to withstand the ravages of a harsh desert environment and the encroachment of imperial forces by synthesizing knowledge of the past, Muslim
practices, and skillful livestock management
in a successful fusion of traditional values with modern techniques.
In 1985, a 4 hour and 40 minute India
n-produced epic film
by the filmmaker Salah Ahmed entitled the Somalia Dervishes went into production. With a budget of $1.8 million, it included an actual descendant of Muhammad Abdullah Hassan as its star, and featured hundreds of actors and extras.
The following year, the first local short feature film to be shot on video
was released. Titled Ciyaar Mood ("It is not a Joke"), it was directed by the filmmaker Abdurrahman Yusuf Cartan. Several renowned independent theater productions were later transposed to video by Muxiyadiin Qaliif Cabdi and various other young Somali directors.
In 1987, Somali film director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said released a short film entitled Geedka nolosha
or The Tree of Life, which the following year earned the Prize of the City of Torino in the Best Film - International Short Film Competition category at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema
.
That same year, the inaugural Mogadishu Pan-African and Arab Film Symposium (Mogpaafis) was held, bringing together an array of prominent filmmakers and movie experts from across the globe, including other parts of Northeast Africa and the Arab world
, as well as Asia
and Europe
. Held annually in Mogadishu, the film festival
was organized by the Somali Film Agency.
The establishment of national television networks during this period further fueled the growth of independent Somali productions, most shot on video. Having now obtained greater penetration of the domestic market, the focus then shifted from traditional film premieres in movie theaters to private projections. Consequently, fewer foreign films were imported into the country.
(Aleel). Another environmentally-conscious short film, it predicted the devastating effects that illegal toxic waste dumping by foreign vessels would have on local marine life and the fishermen who depended on it.
In 2008, the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell
wrote and co-produced the short film Charcoal Traffic, which was directed by the filmmaker Nathan Collett
. Shot on location in Somalia, it employs a fictional storyline to educate the public about the ecological damage that charcoal production can create.
In 2011, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival also launched the SANAD development and post-production fund for cineastes from the Arab world. With the goal of encouraging independent and auteur
-based cinema, Somali filmmakers now have access to financial grants, screenwriting and pitch workshops, and personal meetings with industry mentors and experts. In conjunction with the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) professional training, networking and project development organization, the Dubai International Film Festival
also offers to Somali filmmakers the Interchange group of development and co-production workshops earmarked for directors, screenwriters and producers from the larger Arab region.
both within Somalia and in the diaspora. Referred to as Somaliwood
, this upstart cinematic movement has energized the local movie scene, in the process introducing innovative storylines, production techniques and advertising strategies. The latter include cross-media marketing
, with tie-in
film soundtracks featuring prominent Somali music
artists. Popular movies from Somaliwood include the Somali language slasher
thriller Xaaskayga Araweelo, the action comedy Rajo, and Warmooge, the first Somali animated film. The young directors Abdisalam Aato of Olol Films and Abdi Malik Isak are at the forefront of this quiet revolution. In 2010, the Somali director Mo Ali also released Shank, his first feature film set in a futuristic London.
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
. The earliest forms of public film display in the country were Italian newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
s of key events during the colonial period. Growing out of the Somali people
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
's rich storytelling tradition, the first few feature-length Somali films and cinematic festivals emerged in the early 1960s, immediately after independence. Following the creation of the Somali Film Agency
Somali Film Agency
The Somali Film Agency was a film regulatory body based in Mogadishu, Somalia.-History:Following a bloodless military coup d'état in 1969, the production, distribution and importation of films in the country were nationalized by the new-established Supreme Revolutionary Council...
(SFA) regulatory body in 1975, the local film scene began to expand rapidly. In the 1970s and early 1980s, popular musicals known as Riwaayado were the main driving force behind the Somali movie industry. Epic and period films as well as international co-productions followed suit, facilitated by the proliferation of video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
technology and national television networks. In the 1990s and 2000s, a new wave of more entertainment-oriented movies emerged. Referred to as Somaliwood
Somaliwood
Somaliwood is an informal name for the Somali-language film industry that has developed in the diaspora community of Columbus, Ohio, centered around the Olol Films production company...
, this upstart, youth-based cinematic movement has energized the Somali film industry and in the process introduced innovative storylines, marketing strategies and production techniques.
1910s-1950s
Culture of Somalia
The culture of Somalia is an amalgamation of traditions indigenously developed or accumulated over a timeline spanning several millennia of Somali civilization's interaction with neighbouring and far away civilizations such as Ethiopia, Yemen, India and Persia....
. Love of cinema in Somalia is but a modern, visual incarnation and continuation of this well-established oral tradition.
The earliest forms of public film display in Somalia were Italian newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
s of key events during the colonial period in Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...
. Examples of such works include Somalia: Gheledi (1913), Somalia italiana (1913), Somalia: Le bellezze del fiume Nebi (1913), Sotto la Croce del Sud - Somalia Italiana (1926), Visioni della Somalia italiana (1929) and Viaggio di S.M. il Re in Somalia (novembre-dicembre 1934) (1934).
In the 1940s and 1950s, early Somali actors and film technicians co-operated with Italian crews to domestically produce Fascist films. Among the latter productions were Dub'aad and Soldiers of Bronze.
1960s-1970s
Following independence in 1960, a growing number of privately-owned production and distribution companies as well as actual projection theaters sprang up.In 1961, one of the first Somali feature films to be released was Love Does Not Know Obstacles by Hussein Mabrouk.
During that same year, the Somali-Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
collaboration The Horn of Africa won the highest prize at the 4th International African Film Festival held annually in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
, the nation's capital.
The Somali director Hadj Mohamed Giumale ("Hajji Cagakombe") would produce the popular film Miyo Iyo Magaalo ("Town and Village") a few years later. In 1966, he and other Somali filmmakers also played an integral part in helping to establish the continent-wide Fédération Pan-Africaine des Cinéastes (FEPACI).
In 1969, another long feature film titled Pastoral and Urban Life was released by the director Mohammed Goma Ali.
In 1973, Idriss Hassan Dirie directed Dan Iyo Xarrago ("Reality & Myth"). An early full-length film, it was processed in the Technicolor studios in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Following a bloodless military coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in 1969, the production, distribution and importation of films in the country were nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
by the newly-established Supreme Revolutionary Council
Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)
The Supreme Revolutionary Council was the governmental body that ruled Somalia for most of the period from 1969-1991.-History:On October 15, 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod, Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards...
. Privately-owned movie theaters were subsequently replaced with government-controlled film houses, and about 500 films were projected annually.
In 1975, the Somali Film Agency
Somali Film Agency
The Somali Film Agency was a film regulatory body based in Mogadishu, Somalia.-History:Following a bloodless military coup d'état in 1969, the production, distribution and importation of films in the country were nationalized by the new-established Supreme Revolutionary Council...
(SFA), the nation's film regulatory body, was established. An adjunct to the federal Ministry of Information and National Guidance, it grew out of the Ministry's visual aids arm. The SFA's duties included overseeing the importation, distribution and censorship of movies in the country. It later also oversaw the production of both long and short films. Most of the imported films were brought in from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and East Germany. To facilitate processing and post-production, the SFA also forged a working partnership with British Films LTD, a British movie company.
A new generation of film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
s, camera operator
Camera operator
A camera operator or cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading cameraman is usually called a cinematographer, while a cameraman in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or videographer, depending on...
s, cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
s and sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
s subsequently emerged, most having been trained in Egypt, Italy, the Soviet Union, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, East Germany, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Amongst the latter filmmakers were Abdi Ali Geedi, Hassan Mohamed Osman, Ibrahim Awad, Ibrahim "Cunshur", Fuad Abdulaziz, Cumar Cabdalla, Mohamed Fiqi and Muxiyadiin Qaliif.
Between 1970 and 1982, over 30 short feature films, documentaries and newsreels were made. Produced on a weekly and monthly basis, they were processed mostly in Egypt and were referred to as Somaaliya oo Sawir'ah ("Somalia in the picture"). These short film productions were exhibited in 120 cinema halls throughout the country before the main attraction was projected.
1980s
In the 1970s and early 1980s, popular musicalsMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
referred to as Riwaayado were the main driving force behind the Somali film industry.
In 1983, the feature-length film A Somali Dervish was released. Centering on the revolutionary Dervish State
Dervish State
The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Muslim state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes...
and its influential leader, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan (the "Mad Mullah"), the movie had as an assistant co-director the cineaste Abdulkadir Ahmed Said
Abdulkadir Ahmed Said
Abdulkadir Ahmed Said is a prominent Somali film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor.-Biography:Said was born in 1953 in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. In 1970, he began working for the Somali Film Agency as a photographer assigned to international relations and as a...
.
The same year, the Somali Studies
Somali Studies
Somali Studies is the scholarly term for research concerning Somalis and Somalia. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography and archaeology...
scholar Charles Geshekter produced The Parching Winds of Somalia
The Parching Winds of Somalia
The Parching Winds of Somalia is a documentary film produced by Charles Geshekter.-Subject matter:The film provides a close look at how the nomadic inhabitants of Somalia have withstood the ravages of a harsh desert environment and the encroachment of European imperial forces by synthesizing...
. Shot on location in Somalia, the film examines how the country's nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic inhabitants managed to withstand the ravages of a harsh desert environment and the encroachment of imperial forces by synthesizing knowledge of the past, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
practices, and skillful livestock management
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
in a successful fusion of traditional values with modern techniques.
In 1985, a 4 hour and 40 minute India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n-produced epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
by the filmmaker Salah Ahmed entitled the Somalia Dervishes went into production. With a budget of $1.8 million, it included an actual descendant of Muhammad Abdullah Hassan as its star, and featured hundreds of actors and extras.
The following year, the first local short feature film to be shot on video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
was released. Titled Ciyaar Mood ("It is not a Joke"), it was directed by the filmmaker Abdurrahman Yusuf Cartan. Several renowned independent theater productions were later transposed to video by Muxiyadiin Qaliif Cabdi and various other young Somali directors.
In 1987, Somali film director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said released a short film entitled Geedka nolosha
Geedka nolosha
Geedka nolosha , or The Tree of Life, is a short film from Somali writer and director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said. In 1988, it won the Prize of the City of Torino in the Best Film - International Short Film Competition category at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema.-Plot:In a small town, a...
or The Tree of Life, which the following year earned the Prize of the City of Torino in the Best Film - International Short Film Competition category at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
That same year, the inaugural Mogadishu Pan-African and Arab Film Symposium (Mogpaafis) was held, bringing together an array of prominent filmmakers and movie experts from across the globe, including other parts of Northeast Africa and the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
, as well as Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Held annually in Mogadishu, the film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
was organized by the Somali Film Agency.
The establishment of national television networks during this period further fueled the growth of independent Somali productions, most shot on video. Having now obtained greater penetration of the domestic market, the focus then shifted from traditional film premieres in movie theaters to private projections. Consequently, fewer foreign films were imported into the country.
1990s-present
In 1992, Abdulkadir Ahmed Said released the Somali-Italian co-production La ConchigliaLa Conchiglia
La Conchiglia , or The Conch, is a short film from Somali writer and director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said.-Plot:A female artist is painting a seascape on a deserted beach when she discovers a beautiful conch. Curious, she puts her ear to it and listens to the echoes and sounds of the ocean waves...
(Aleel). Another environmentally-conscious short film, it predicted the devastating effects that illegal toxic waste dumping by foreign vessels would have on local marine life and the fishermen who depended on it.
In 2008, the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell
Fatima Jibrell
Fatima Jibrell is a prominent Somali-American environmental activist. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization , co-founder of Sun Fire Cooking, and was instrumental in the creation of the Women’s Coalition for Peace.-Biography:Jibrell...
wrote and co-produced the short film Charcoal Traffic, which was directed by the filmmaker Nathan Collett
Nathan Collett
-Overview:Collett's work focuses on those on the margins of society as well as on environmental issues. He has filmed across the world, including location footage in Somalia and South America. He works both in fictional films and on documentaries, with a specific focus on Kibera in Kenya, Africa's...
. Shot on location in Somalia, it employs a fictional storyline to educate the public about the ecological damage that charcoal production can create.
In 2011, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival also launched the SANAD development and post-production fund for cineastes from the Arab world. With the goal of encouraging independent and auteur
Auteur theory
In film criticism, auteur theory holds that a director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur"...
-based cinema, Somali filmmakers now have access to financial grants, screenwriting and pitch workshops, and personal meetings with industry mentors and experts. In conjunction with the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) professional training, networking and project development organization, the Dubai International Film Festival
Dubai International Film Festival
The Dubai International Film Festival is an international film festival based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Launched in 2004, it aims to foster the growth of filmmaking in the Arab world.-Overview:...
also offers to Somali filmmakers the Interchange group of development and co-production workshops earmarked for directors, screenwriters and producers from the larger Arab region.
Somaliwood
A new generation of more entertainment-oriented movies coming from the Somali film industry has grown increasingly popular among SomalisSomali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
both within Somalia and in the diaspora. Referred to as Somaliwood
Somaliwood
Somaliwood is an informal name for the Somali-language film industry that has developed in the diaspora community of Columbus, Ohio, centered around the Olol Films production company...
, this upstart cinematic movement has energized the local movie scene, in the process introducing innovative storylines, production techniques and advertising strategies. The latter include cross-media marketing
Cross-media marketing
Cross media marketing is a form of cross-promotion in which promotional companies commit to surpassing the traditional advertisements and decide to include extra appeals to their offered products.. The material can be communicated by any mass media such as e-mails, letters, web pages, or other...
, with tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
film soundtracks featuring prominent Somali music
Music of Somalia
The music of Somalia refers to the musical styles, techniques and sounds of Somalia.-Overview:Somalia has a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic; that is, they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the...
artists. Popular movies from Somaliwood include the Somali language slasher
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
thriller Xaaskayga Araweelo, the action comedy Rajo, and Warmooge, the first Somali animated film. The young directors Abdisalam Aato of Olol Films and Abdi Malik Isak are at the forefront of this quiet revolution. In 2010, the Somali director Mo Ali also released Shank, his first feature film set in a futuristic London.
Festivals
- Mogadishu Pan-African and Arab Film Symposium (Mogpaafis)
- International African Film Festival
Notable films
- Love Does Not Know Obstacles (1961)
- The Horn of Africa (1961)
- Miyo Iyo Magaalo (1968)
- Dan Iyo Xarrago (1973)
- A Somali Dervish (1983)
- The Somali Darwish (1984)
- The Parching Winds of SomaliaThe Parching Winds of SomaliaThe Parching Winds of Somalia is a documentary film produced by Charles Geshekter.-Subject matter:The film provides a close look at how the nomadic inhabitants of Somalia have withstood the ravages of a harsh desert environment and the encroachment of European imperial forces by synthesizing...
(1984) - Somalia Dervishes (1985)
- Ciyaar Mood (1986)
- Geedka noloshaGeedka noloshaGeedka nolosha , or The Tree of Life, is a short film from Somali writer and director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said. In 1988, it won the Prize of the City of Torino in the Best Film - International Short Film Competition category at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema.-Plot:In a small town, a...
(1987) - La ConchigliaLa ConchigliaLa Conchiglia , or The Conch, is a short film from Somali writer and director Abdulkadir Ahmed Said.-Plot:A female artist is painting a seascape on a deserted beach when she discovers a beautiful conch. Curious, she puts her ear to it and listens to the echoes and sounds of the ocean waves...
(1992) - Rajo (2003)
- Xaaskayga Araweelo (2006)
Directors
- Abdi Ali Geedi
- Abdi Malik Isak
- Abdisalam Aato
- Abdullahi Isse Ali
- Cumar Cabdalla
- Farah Omar
- Fuad Abdulaziz
- Hadj Mohamed Giumale
- Hassan Mohamed Osman
- Hussein Mabrouk
- Ibrahim Awad
- Ibrahim "Cunshur"
- Jaani Dheere
- Mo Ali
- Mohamed Fiqi
- Mohammed Goma Ali
- Muxiyadiin Qaliif
Actors
- Abdisalan Jiimi
- Abdulkadir Mohamed Alasow
- Abdulqadir Nurani
- Ali Hiiran
- Awkuuku
- Cabdi Haybe
- Fathiya Saleban
- Hakima Caalin
- Haliima Hilaac
- Iikar Jeesto
- Ilkacase
- Jaad Abdullahi
- Jeyte
- Maki Xaaji Banaadir
- Marshaale
- Maxamed Isman Inna
- Odey Abdulle
- Owdaango
- Owkoombe
- Sahruuja
- Sanqoole
- Shariif Jeeg