Shorts 4: What We Carry

What We Carry is an East African shorts program featuring seven films from Somali, Sudanese, Oromo diaspora, and beyond - stories of grief, ambition, faith, and survival told by filmmakers working across three continents.

Forever’s Here

Director: Amoona Abdelwahab

United States. 2025. 10 min.

An imperfect and deeply personal exploration of grief during a time when it was director Amoona Abdelwahab's closest companion.

Nagaati

Director: Barento Taha

United States. 2024. 5 min.

A young man struggles to replicate his mother’s recipe after her funeral.

African Family Dinner

Director: Ibrahim Mursal

Norway, Somalia, Sudan. 2025. 12 min.

Mona, a Norwegian blonde, meets her Ghanaian boyfriend's family for the first time. What starts as a simple dinner with both sides eager to impress each other, quickly escalates into the most awkward dinner in history!

Against the Odds

Director: Burtukaan Adaree

United States. 2025. 18 min.

A story about a first-generation Oromo girl who faces an unexpected layoff while carrying the weight of financially supporting her family back home.

The Earth Has Ears

Director: Khadar Ayderus Ahmed

Somalia. 2025. 13 min.

When men take up arms to go against their brothers, women have to take up gravediggers’ shovels.

By Any Means

Director: Jamal Omar

Canada. 2025. 16 min.

Set in Jane & Finch, By Any Means explores ambition, responsibility, and the pressure that comes with wanting more.

How To Hide It

Director: Ramla Ali & Richard Moore

United Kingdom. 2025. 13 min.

A moment of weakness after a humiliating breakup leads a young Muslim woman to play a forbidden lottery ticket. Her chance at escape becomes a spiritual crisis.