A MAN ON A MISSION
Somalia native makes documentary to educate others about ?who we are?
Sherri Williams
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The east African nation of Somalia wasn?t unfamiliar to those interviewed at Easton Town Center and in the Short North for a documentary called Somali Voices.
But they knew little about the refugees who have flocked to central Ohio because of a civil war.
When he had previously encountered a similar lack of knowledge about his homeland, Abdisalam Aato was prompted to document the people and place he loves so dearly.
His Somali Voices will be screened for the first time in Columbus on Saturday at Ohio State University.
I'm concerned about our identity," said Aato, 30. ??Not a lot of people know us. I want them to know us. We want people to see who we are."
The one-hour film, which has been shown in Minneapolis and Toronto, will make its debut next week in Atlanta.
The movie could help others view Somalis as complex people, said Abdi Cheik, the 32-year-old Somali owner of the Gypsy Cafe in the Short North.
He recently saw the work.
"You had the older generation speaking Somali and the younger generation speaking English," said Cheik, whose family moved to Columbus in 1982.
"It gave you the different dynamics of the Somali community. It was informative and tries to reach people of both communities."
In the documentary, Aato ? with partner Gahayr Berbera and others ? interviews about 40 Somalis in Columbus, Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, Washington, Ottawa, Toronto and London.
The filmmaker, who moved to the United States in 1996 and lives in Columbus, hopes that Somali Voices will foster awareness among Americans and unity among Somalis.
The interviews with Somalis offer a glimpse of their lives outside their country: They speak of assimilation difficulties, ethnic conflicts among Somalis and desires for the rebuilding of their homeland.
Such a piece, said David Filipi, media-arts curator at the Wexner Center for the Arts, is crucial to promoting understanding: It shows an ethnic group from a perspective beyond that of the mainstream American media.
"The only time we see them (other nations) is when something bad happens ? whether it?s war, famine or natural disaster," he said. "It?s great to show a film especially if it?s from someone from that country."
Striking photos in the documentary illustrate the devastating effect of war on Somalia.
Before the fighting, pristine buildings with elaborate architecture stand; afterward, mostly blasted rubble remains.
Somali Voices is the sixth film and first documentary for Aato, who developed his cinematic passion as a child: When his older brother didn?t want him around, he indulged his imagination at movie theaters.
Today, because creative endeavors in Somalia were largely limited by the government, he dedicates his life to telling the stories of Somalis in their own uncensored voices.
Aato, who once worked at a TV station in Atlanta, formed Olol Film Productions in 2002, the year he arrived in Columbus. Last year, he launched the distribution company Somalywood Studios.
DVDs of his movies are sold at Olol Studio, 3254 Cleveland Ave. ? a store he started with his brother, Farah, in 2002.
Aato is planning a documentary about the death of 23-year-old Nasir Abdi, who was fatally shot Dec. 29 by a Franklin County deputy sheriff at a Northeast Side apartment complex.
As they tried to take Abdi to a mental institution, according to deputies, he held them off with a knife.
"The things I do, I want them to end up in libraries," Aato said. "It?s not entertainment I?m trying to do; it?s teaching and helping people."
sherri.williams@dispatch.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ?
...interesting.
. You actually reminded me wallahi.
