Sara A. Osman is a legal advocate, documentary filmmaker, and cultural practitioner from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a co-founder of The Qalanjo Project, a Somali cultural organization and creative arts studio in Minneapolis that promotes cultural production, community archival work, and grassroots social change through the arts. She develops programs that uplift artistry in community; the themes of home, belonging, and cultural preservation are central to her work. Osman is a lifelong community organizer and anti-racism advocate who has worked extensively on migration and human rights issues across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Her legal and creative interests lie at the intersection of cultural and legal frameworks, how policies shape identities and narratives, and how filmmaking can serve as a form of advocacy and resistance. Her artmaking has received support from organizations including NeXt Doc, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, Firelight Media, the City of Minneapolis’ Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Mamá Papaya, and the Minnesota State Arts Board.
Project Statement
When the Sky Mourns With Us is a feature-length experimental documentary film that investigates Somali death culture and grieving practices across space and time. The film examines how communities have honored the dead through precolonial rituals, Islamic burial rites, and the collective traditions that once shaped everyday life. It simultaneously traces the disruptions and adaptations brought by war, displacement, and migration. Through poetry, oral testimony, and intimate observation, the film traces how Somalis honor the dead, carry memory, and navigate loss across generations and geographies. At once elegy and inquiry, the film seeks to explore what endures when mourning is fractured, how rituals evolve and change over time, and what remains when grief is experienced both collectively and in isolation.
