Somalia - The great effort
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Somalia - The great effort |
| Country of production | GDR |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1976 |
| length | 20 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Winfried Young |
| script | Winfried Junge Werner Kohlert |
| production | DEFA studio for short films |
| camera | Werner Kohlert |
| cut | Eleanor Burke |
| occupation | |
| |
Somalia - The great effort is a documentary film by the DEFA studio for short films by Winfried Junge from 1976 .
action
This film is about the estimated 5 million citizens of the Republic of Somalia in 1976 . The country stretches from the Horn of Africa to the equator , has over 3,000 kilometers of coastline on the Indian Ocean , behind it are little fertile areas, mostly just steppe and desert . From history it is known as the land of frankincense and myrrh , but also the slave trade . The former British and Italian colony is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. The country gained independence in 1960 and a revolution followed in 1969 . Previously only every hundredth read and write, now self-help and self-confidence have become a national imperative, and war has been declared on ignorance. The film wants to show how this happens. The whole country is learning to read and write. The small and large children in the covered schools or outdoors. The same picture for young and old men and women, even after the day's work. Since the country has too few teachers, those from the socialist countries help out. These are particularly necessary in the advanced subjects such as the scientific worldview, the natural sciences and Marxism-Leninism . The young women in the schools learn not only to read and write, but also to cook and knit, but they are also taught the idea of equality in Africa . It is also about the incipient industrialization in an agricultural state , the young people should have a learned profession and no longer be casual workers . Specialists from the GDR help in one of the first training centers for technical professions .
At the Institute for Teacher Training at the National University , the foundations are being laid to quench the country's thirst for knowledge. A precondition for historical progress, also in Africa, is the development of a working class . For the first time in the history of Somalia, iron is smelted here for the production of simple agricultural implements and for spare parts to repair them. The factory is new, but it strengthens the self-confidence and strength to stand on your own two feet. With Soviet help, a reservoir with an attached irrigation system is being built on the equator, because where there is water, the dry land becomes an oasis and that in turn helps to defeat hunger. A 19-year-old typesetter who attended high school learned English, Italian and Arabic from books and now has to learn Somali too, because since 1972 her mother tongue has had its own script, which was brought about by the revolution. Every Somali has the right to work and education. One of the means to eradicate the ignorance of the population shows a crash course in which 3000 former students become 3000 teachers.
All of this is part of the great effort in Somalia in 1976.
Production and publication
Somalia - The great effort was filmed under the working title Somalia I by KAG futurum on ORWO-Color .
The dramaturgy was in the hands of Curt Casper . The texts are by Winfried Junge and Werner Kohlert.
On the XIX. International Leipzig Documentary and Short Film Week for Cinema and Television premiered on November 25, 1976.