Directed by Mohamed Kordofani
Sudan | 2023 | Fiction | 116 min | Arabic w/subtitles
Film Source: Ambient Light Film
Sponsored by: Glenn Earnes, in honor of Mary Manghis
Winner of the Freedom Prize at Cannes’ un Certain Regard, this striking debut feature from Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani deftly balances the personal and political, keeping the characters front and center while illuminating how political strife can make enemies from friends. Taking place just prior to the 2011 secession of South Sudan, Goodbye Julia tells the story of Mona, a young Northern Sudanese woman in a tense marriage, whose actions lead to the murder of a South Sudanese man, a crime for which the only repercussions are the rumblings of Mona’s conscience. In an attempt to make amends, she becomes friends with the victim’s widow, but, inevitably, the country’s political turmoil forces a personal reckoning. Don’t come late: more happens in the first 13 minutes of this film than happens in a lot of double-features. ~SM