Mohamed Kordofani both wrote and directed the film, which is a collaborative effort among talents from Sudan, Sweden, Germany, Saudi Arabia, France, and Egypt.
The Sudanese film Goodbye Julia has added another feather to its cap by securing the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California.
Directed by Mohamed Kordofani, the film unfolds within the backdrop of the secessionist movement that led to the formation of the independent nation of South Sudan in 2011.
Jurors lauded the festival’s remarkable selection of narrative features and unanimously crowned Goodbye Julia as the standout film. They praised it as “an outstanding first feature from Mohamed Kordofani, anchored by two stellar performances from Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak.” The film offers a compelling insight into a culture and region that are often overlooked in contemporary cinema.
The distinguished jury panel consisted of Rosa Bosch, Tyler Coates, Rebecca Fisher, Jason Hellerstein, and Julie Huntsinger.
Goodbye Julia premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last year, clinching the prestigious Freedom Prize. It further garnered acclaim, winning the Cinema For Humanity Prize at the El Gouna Film Festival, the Roger Ebert Award in the New Directors Competition at the Chicago Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Singapore International Film Festival. The film represented Sudan in the Best International Film category at the Academy Awards.
Lupita Nyong’o, the Academy Award-winning actress serves as the executive producer of Goodbye Julia.
Goodbye Julia follows the story of Mona — a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage — who is wracked by guilt after covering up a murder. In an attempt to make amends, she takes in the deceased’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel, into her home.
Unable to confess her transgressions to Julia, Mona decides to leave the past behind and adjust to a new status quo, unaware that the country’s turmoil may find its way into her home and put her face to face with her sins.
The film is a co-production involving Sudanese, Swedish, German, Saudi, French, and Egyptian collaborators.
The film features Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Goma, and Ger Duany. Written and directed by Mohamed Kordofani, Goodbye Julia is produced by Amjad Abu Alala of Station Films in collaboration with Mohamed Al-Omda. MAD Solutions manages worldwide sales and distribution.
Co-producers of 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).