Cinema of Somalia
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.
As a consequence, in 1963 Hajji Cagakombe's Miyi Iyo Magaalo ("The Countryside and the City" or "Town & Village"), a Somali-Italian co-production, was the country's first full-length feature film.
[5] 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.
[6] The Somali director Hadj Mohamed Giumale ("Hajji Cagakombe") would produce the popular film Miyo Iyo Magaalo ("Town and Village") a few years later.
[2][7] 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).
[2] 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.
Centering on the revolutionary Dervish State and Diiriye Guure's influential lead clergyman, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (the "Mad Mullah").
Having now obtained greater penetration of the domestic market, the focus then shifted from traditional film premieres in movie theaters to private projections.
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.
[17][18] In 2008, the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell wrote and co-produced the short film Charcoal Traffic, which was directed by the filmmaker Nathan Collett.
[19] Shot on location in Somalia, it employs a fictional storyline to educate the public about the ecological damage that charcoal production can create.
[citation needed][20] 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.
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.
