In Khartoum, just before the secession of South Sudan, a singer from the north seeks redemption for causing the death of a southern man. Unable to confess her transgressions, she adjusts to a new status quo, unaware that the country’s turmoil may put her face to face with her past. Mohamed Kordofani’s intelligent debut premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where it became the first Sudanese film to participate in the history of the festival. It went on to win the festival’s Freedom Prize and was later Sudan’s official submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.

This screening is presented in partnership with MAONA and will feature Sudanese food and live music before the screening. 

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Reviews

‘Kordofani’s intelligent, compassionate scripting ensures that the political never overwhelms the personal. Yet it also illuminates just how well the fault lines that divide a nation can map onto the rifts within a human heart divided against itself.’
Jessica Kiang, Variety

‘A gut-wrenching and emotionally rewarding tale of religious persecution compounded by entrenched racism, Goodbye Julia may be set in Sudan between 2005 and 2010 but feels deeply pertinent and, unfortunately, timeless.’
Lisa Nesselson, Screen International

The SAFAR Film Festival is the largest festival in the UK dedicated to cinema from the Arab world. Founded in 2012, SAFAR showcases the broad spectrum of film from the region by working with curators on themed programmes and inviting filmmakers for live Q&As and events.

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