#somaliwood

[fvckfawaz]

[foxmonkey]

Say what??? Things I never knew.

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. Following the model of Bollywood, the name is a portmanteau of the words Somali and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry. As a result of the diaspora following the country’s civil war, Columbus has become home to an estimated 45,000 Somalis. The city is also home to a Somali newspaper and radio show

“ Columbus is like the Hollywood of Somalia now because the biggest production studio is here...”

—Abdisalam Aato

Movies to come out of Somaliwood include the thriller Xaaskayga Araweelo, Rajo, the first feature-length Somali-language movie, and Warmooge, the first Somali animated film. Important figures in Columbus Somali filmmaking include director Abdisalam Aato, and local Somali actress Fathiya Saleban.

(Wikipedia entry)

edited to add: Born and raised here, lived here all my life and did not know this!