The film is produced by Amjad Abu Alala’s Station Films and co-produced by Ali Alarabi, CEO and founder of Ambient Light.
The Sudanese film Goodbye Julia has achieved another milestone by winning the Blue Angel Award for Best Feature Film at the IFF Art Film in Kosice, Slovakia. The film also received a special mention for actors Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak for their outstanding performances.
The Blue Angel Award for Best Feature Film includes a €2000 cash prize, awarded to the film’s producer. The 30th edition of the International Film Festival Art Film (IFF Art Film) was held from June 21 to June 28, 2024.
Goodbye Julia premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last year, clinching the prestigious Freedom Prize. 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.
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.
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. Worldwide sales and distribution are managed by MAD Solutions.
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).
