The trailer for Goodbye Julia, the first Sudanese film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, has been released by its producers.
The world premiere of the film, directed by Mohamed Kordofani, will take place on 20 May as part of the festival’s Un Certain Regard section.
This marks the first time a Sudanese film will participate in the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival.
Goodbye Julia is a drama that tells the story of Mona, a retired singer from northern Sudan trapped in an unhappy marriage. Mona is wracked with guilt after covering up a murder, and to make amends she takes in the widow of the deceased, Julia, who hails from South Sudan, along with her son Daniel.
The film stars Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Goma and Ger Duany.
Goodbye Julia is produced by Station Films’ Amjad Abu Alala, an acclaimed Sudanese filmmaker who directed Sudan’s first-ever Academy Award submission, You Will Die at Twenty, in collaboration with Mohamed Al-Omda.
The film’s writer and director, Kordofani, made a name for himself with his short film Nyerkuk. It won the Black Elephant Award for Best Sudanese Film, NAAS Award for Best Arab Film at the Carthage Film Festival, Jury Award at the Oran International Arab Film Festival, and Arnone-Belavite Pellegrini Award at the FCAAA in Milan.
Additionally, Kordofani’s second short, Kejers Prison, was screened during the Sudanese revolution at the sit-in square in front of thousands of protesters. His documentary, A Tour in Love Republic, was the first pro-revolution film to be broadcast on Sudan’s national TV.
