Mohamed Kordofani’s highly-decorated and -acclaimed Sudanese drama "Goodbye Julia" held a resoundingly successful Egyptian premiere yesterday before its release in select Egyptian theaters and venues across the Greater Cairo Area and Alexandria.
Aside from the film’s cast and crew — producers Amjad Abu Alala and Mohamed Al-Omda, along with actors Eiman Yousif and Nazar Goma — several prominent Egyptian and Sudanese media figures and celebrities attended the event, all of whom sang the film’s praises and honored it with a lengthy standing ovation.
As for the film’s fast-approaching theatrical release, "Goodbye Julia" will be available to screen starting October 25th at Cairo Festival City, Golf El-Obour, October Plaza, Mall of Egypt, Zamalek Cinema, Point 90, Zawya, Galaxy Manial, Rehab, Madinaty, and Cinema Amir and Sea Cinema El Gouna.
Recently, the laureate of the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard Freedom Prize was named as Sudan’s official submission for Best Foreign Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The film also just won Best African Film at the Septimius Awards, where it was in the running for Best African Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Soundtrack as well.
"Goodbye Julia" was also featured at the Horizons Section of the 2023 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and enjoyed widespread popularity and packed screenings after its historic world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Performing admirably in the cinematic zeitgeist, the film garnered rave reviews after its premiere, with Screen Daily praising the film saying: “Kordofani proves that it is possible to bear witness to history in a place rarely depicted on screen,” while Hollywood Reporter described the film as “an operatic drama that nimbly tackles the story of a fractured Sudan.”
"Goodbye Julia" stars Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak — the former Ms. South Sudan — Nazar Goma, and Ger Duany; is written and directed by Kordofani; and produced by Station Films’ acclaimed Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — the director of Sudan’s first-ever submission to the Academy Awards "You Will Die at 20" — in collaboration with producer Mohamed Al-Omda, who co-produced Yemen’s Berlin International Film Festival selection "The Burdened".
A true example of Arab-European collaboration, the film is also co-produced by 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). Additionally, MAD Solutions is handling the film’s worldwide sales.
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.
Kordofani is a Sudanese filmmaker whose short film NYERKUK 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.
His second short "Kejer's prison" was screened during the Sudanese revolution at the sit-in square in front of thousands of protesters, and his documentary "A Tour In Love Republic" was the first pro-revolution film to be broadcast on Sudan's national TV.
His last film was "This Is Sudan", which was commissioned by Sudan’s former prime minister Abdallah Hamdok to promote Sudan's potential for investment.
Contributed by Yara Sameh
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