What follows is short documentary proposal. A longer script treatment will be posted later.
Synopsis: The name nation of poets is a phrase borrowed from European and North American visitors to Somalia who repeatedly mentioned the Somali people as A Nation Of poets. Director Dega Omar's first feature film, a Somali woman uprooted in Canada and the U.S., through strong and vibrant visuals, brings poetic heritage of the Somalis to bear on the present situation of Somali civil war and statelessness, similar to the way poetry was used to arouse the public to debate as well as to entertain. The film journey traces the history of Somali poetry and the key individuals of that time to the current members of Somali literary scene. In the tradition of storytelling, people like Margaret Laurence and B.W. Andrzewjewski , Musa Galaal and others who have collected it and preserved it for the future generation are included as individuals whose voices are crucial to the history of Somali poetry. They will have segments of their stories intercut with present stories, shot as historic archival footage inserted to draw visual parallel to the present situation. The film journey takes the viewer from the past to present in non linear fashion, traveling places where Somali refugees are settled in like Toronto and Minneapolis, Colombus, Atlanta, D.C. as well as places where important poets, singers, Somali studies scholars and important cultural figures live in the Diaspora. The film deals with issues of displacement, Somali tribal/political conflict and the people's passion for poetry, with strong poetic visuals that will showcase the talent, the history and the conflicts of the Somali people. The story will be told from varied perspectives, from the past to present, the objective viewpoint with subjective anecdote, and use of drama with documentary footage. P> Treatment: Nation of Poets is a journey, both literally and metaphorically, as the filmmaker takes on personal journey to bring together lovers of Somali culture and poetry, to reflect on the recent history, to debate as well as to entertain.