Director Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature ‘Goodbye Julia’ made history last month by becoming the first Sudanese film to compete in the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection. The film made its world premiere as part of the festival’s Un Certain Regard section, dedicated to alternative cinema and young talents, where it received a standing ovation and reaped widespread acclaim. Set in Khartoum, six years prior to the cessation of South Sudan in 2011, ‘Goodbye Julia’ follows Mona (Eiman Yousif), a wealthy Muslim woman from northern Sudan, and Julia (Siran Riyak) a poor Christian woman from the south. The unpunished murder of Julia’s husband results in an unexpected friendship between the two women – embroiled in all the socio-political tensions of the fragmented nation. Speaking to The New Arab, Kordofani lamented the timing of the premiere, days into the eruption of the ongoing conflict pitting Sudan’s Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Clashes have forced tens of thousands of people to flee the country. The film’s achievement is in line with the rapid growth of Sudan’s film industry since 2019, the year that saw the overthrow of Omar Al-Bashir’s twenty…
From Khartoum to Cannes: Five Recent Internationally Acclaimed Sudanese Films
June 4, 2023
