ODID presents... "Khartoum" (80mins) & Director Q&A with Rawia Alhag, Khadmallah Ali, and Phil Cox, followed by a wine reception.
In 2022, Sudanese filmmakers, in collaboration with a British writer / director, and supported by indie company Native Voice Films and Sudan Film Factory with Ayin Network, began filming the lives and dreams of five very different citizens in Khartoum: Street boy LOKAIN (12) and his best friend WILSON (11) embark on a mission in Khartoum’s rubbish dumps to buy two beautiful shirts. KHADMALLAH (28) a single mum and tea vendor engages her daily clientele in gossip and cardamom coffee whilst studying math to start her dream business. JAWAD (30) is a Sufi Rastafarian resistance volunteer who rides a motorcycle and protests for a civilian government. Civil servant MAJDI (45) escapes office life by racing pigeons with his son. When filming started, the Sudanese were faced with a military leadership that had brought down the previous civilian government. Soon, however, war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, displacing over eleven million people, including everyone in the production.
The filmmakers and participants, led by the producer Giovanna Stopponi, escaped to East Africa and once there, determined to find a way to continue. Led by the creative director, the team devised a new narrative through innovative cinematic storytelling, combining animation, green screen reconstructions, and documentary ‘dream reversions’ or ‘dreamscapes’. Filmed on location in Khartoum, Cairo and Nairobi with donated iPhones by four emerging Sudanese filmmakers in an international collaboration, this emotional and innovative film captures the stark realism of one of Africa's great cities as it is consumed by revolution and war with its resilient inhabitants determined to keep their dreams intact despite being forced to flee.
The film had it’s world premiere at Sundance 2025 and European premiere at the Berlinale 2025 winning the prestigious Film Peace Award. It has received several further awards and press accolades.
SEE TRAILER HERE -> https://youtu.be/5C1bOPkvdZI?si=kIDIDdRmJzHQWFGJ
Awards: Berlinale Peace Film Award 2025 / Amnesty International Film Award Berlinale / FIFDH Gilda Vieira de Mello Award Geneva / Milan FESCAAAL Audience Award / Barcelona
In collaboration with the North East Africa Forum & St. John's College.
