Oscars: Sudan Submits ‘Goodbye Julia’ For Best International Feature Film

Sudan has submitted Mohamed Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

The film made history in Cannes^[1] this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard.

Its premiere took place just weeks after fighting broke out in Khartoum due to a clash between rival generals, which has led to the deaths of 5,000 people and uprooted seven million people.

Since Cannes, the film has also played at Karlovy Vary in its Horizons section and will make its MENA premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival in October ahead of a theatrical release in the country on October 25. It has also been selected for the BFI London Film Festival.

The selection was made by the Sudanese National Committee which is operating in exile.

Alaa Karkouti at MAD Solutions, which is handling world sales, said the committee had confirmed with AMPAS that the film would be eligible for consideration. He added that its qualifying theatrical run in Egypt had been permitted thanks to the fact the country is a co-production territory.

CAA Media Finance represents the film in North America.

“I feel very grateful that the committee in Sudan reactivated and selected Goodbye Julia for the Oscars race despite the war. This only shows how resilient and hopeful people in Sudan can be… I hope we can be visible to voters so that we can be visible to the world and show it a different side of Sudan,” said Kordofani.

Kordofani belongs to a wave of filmmakers that emerged in the wake of Sudan^[2]’s 2019 revolution, ending the 30-year rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Efforts to build a civil democracy have since stalled following a military coup in October 2021 by General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhani, who is now involved in a power struggle with General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Goodbye Julia is set in a different moment of turmoil for the country in the lead up to the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum, in which the suppressed Black mainly Christian population of the south voted to break away from the ruling Arab Muslim population of the north.

The film explores the roots of the schism through the tale of a singer from the north (Eiman Yousif) who tries to make amends for her role in the killing of a man from the south without revealing her connection to the crime by hiring his widow as a maid, played by Dubai-based, South Sudan-born top model Siran Riak in her first big screen role.

U.S-Sudanese actor and refugee advocate Ger Duany (The Good Lie, The Nile Hilton Incident) also features in the cast in a supporting role.

The film is also currently competing at the Septimius Awards, where it is in the running for Best African Actress, Best African Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Soundtrack.(

The film is produced by Amjad Abu Alala at Station Films – who directed Sudan’s first-ever submission to the Academy Awards You Will Die At Twenty – in collaboration with producer Mohamed Al-Omda, who co-produced Yemen’s Berlinale selection The Burdened.

“Sudan was already on fire and in the early days of the war when we first screened Goodbye Julia at Cannes. As a result, that moment was extremely emotional for us,” said Abu Alala.

“Although the war persists, this announcement has given us a renewed sense of joy – this tells the people of Sudan that a successful life is possible for us. We’re so excited about this Oscar’s campaign, and hope to lead Goodbye Julia to a win.”

Co-producers on the film include Baho Bakhsh and Safei Eldin Mahmoud (Red Star Films), Michael Henrichs (Die Gesellschaft), Khaled Awad and Mohamed Kordofani (Klozium Studios), Marc Irmer (Dolce Vita), Faisal Baltyuor (Cinewaves Films), Ali El-Arabi (Ambient Light), Adham El-Sherif (CULT), and Issraa Elkogali Häggström (RiverFlower).

Previously,  Goodbye Julia won MAD Solutions’ Grant Award at the CineGouna SpringBoard that was held at the fourth El Gouna Film Festival, Best Film Project in the Development Phase ($15,000), a certificate from the El Gouna Cinema Platform, a Mentorship Prize from the IEFTA, and the New Century Prize ($10,000).

It also won the Malmö Arab Film Festival’s award for Best Project In Development and received financial support from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund, the Paris Region, ARRI, and Film und Medienstiftung NRW.

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References

1. ^{^} Cannes (deadline.com)
2. ^{^} Sudan (deadline.com)
3. ^{^} Deadline's Newsletter (pages.email.deadline.com)
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