'Goodbye Julia' tells the story of two women who represent the complicated relationship and differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.
Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature, Goodbye Julia, which received the Cannes Film Festival‘s Un Certain Regard Freedom Prize, is set to have its Arab world premiere during the sixth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), which is scheduled to run from October 13 to 20.
After initially starting out as a project on the festival’s CineGouna SpringBoard, where it secured MAD Solutions’ Distribution Grant Award, 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), the film will now compete in the festival’s Feature Film Competition.
The film is also in the running for the GFF’s Cinema for Humanity Audience Award, an annual prize consisting of a trophy, a certificate, and a $20,000 cash reward, awarded to films with humanitarian themes.
Goodbye Julia follows the story of Mona, a retired singer in northern Sudan, trapped in a tense marriage and plagued by guilt after covering up a murder. In an attempt to make amends, she invites the deceased’s Southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel, into her home. Unable to confess her transgressions to Julia, Mona attempts to move forward, unaware that the country’s turmoil may intrude into her home and put her face to face with her sins.
Recently, it was announced that Goodbye Julia will also feature at the BFI London Film Festival, scheduled from October 4 to 15. Additionally, it will participate in the Septimius Awards, taking place from September 25 to 26, where it will compete in numerous categories, including Best African Actress (with Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak, the film’s lead actresses, as contenders), Best African Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Soundtrack.
The film stars Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Goma, and Ger Duany. It is written and directed by Mohamed Kordofani and produced by Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala of Station Films, in collaboration with producer Mohamed Al-Omda. The film is 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). MAD Solutions is responsible for the film’s worldwide sales.
MAD Solutions has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Goodbye Julia.
The film also received support from the Red Sea Fund, the Paris Region, ARRI, and Film und Medienstiftung NRW and won the Malmö Arab Film Festival’s award for Best Project In Development.
