The Sudanese film Goodbye Julia attracted a large number of Sudanese expatriates in Egypt during its special screening on Monday at Zamalek Cinema in Cairo. The film has received significant recognition at international film festivals, winning several awards. It is set to begin its public screenings in Egypt on Tuesday in ten cinemas.
The premiere was held without the usual celebratory rituals or a red carpet due to the war in Gaza. Some of the film’s creators expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian cause with statements made during the special screening.
The Sudanese film received several international awards, including the Freedom Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Best African Film award at the Septimius Awards, and recently, the Roger Ebert Award at the Chicago International Film Festival.
This film marks the directorial debut of Mohamed Kordofani in the realm of feature films. Throughout the film, the complex relationships among its characters gradually reveal the torn and fragmented state of the nation. The story begins in 2005, before the separation of North and South Sudan, and unfolds through a human narrative.
The protagonist, Mona, is a singer whose husband forces her to stop singing. She accidentally hits a Southern child with her car, leading the child’s father to follow her to her home. Her husband shoots and kills the man, and Mona’s guilt drives her to seek the help of Julia, the widow, to work as a servant in her household. This decision sends her child to school and creates a crisis when her secret is discovered.
Goodbye Julia has been selected to represent Sudan at the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category in the 96th edition scheduled for March 10 next year.
Reports from Egyptian and Sudanese sources indicate that over 5 million Sudanese live in Egypt. Many Sudanese artists have relocated to Egypt in recent months due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.