Sudan wishes for farewell to violence with award-winning film Goodbye Julia

Goodbye Julia, Sudan's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar award this year, explores deep ethnic divisions in the conflict-ridden North African country (Photo: Wikinomics)

Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak haven't visited their home country since clashes broke out between rival factions in Sudanese capital Khartoum eight months ago. Living abroad, the displaced actors from the North African nation are hoping a new film can unite the country and help their return home.

Yousif and Riak play the lead roles in Goodbye Julia, Sudan's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 96th Academy Awards. Directed by Mohamed Kordofani, the Arabic language feature film bagged a major award at the Cannes film festival where it premiered in May this year.

"The situation in Sudan is crazy right now and it is getting more difficult day after day," says Yousif, who left Khartoum with her parents for Egypt following the violence in the capital. "After Khartoum, the militias are now moving to different states," she adds.

Goodbye Julia actor Eiman Yousif, who lives in Cairo, Egypt with her parents, at El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, December 14-21. (Photo: Faizal Khan)

On December 14, the International Rescue Committee (IRC)'s annual emergency watchlist named Sudan on the top of 20 countries most at risk of intensifying humanitarian emergency in 2024, ahead of the occupied Palestinian territory and South Sudan. The IRC estimates six million displaced people and 25 million in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan where the government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are engaged in fighting.

Shot in Khartoum during November-December last year before the violence broke out, Goodbye Julia tells the story of two women, played by Yousif and Riak, negotiating a complex relationship because of their separate Sudan and South Sudan identities.

"The story is taken from reality. It is a true story," says Riak, a Khartoum-born fashion model based in Dubai before she landed her first-ever role in a film as the titular character of a South Sudanese domestic help working for a middle class family in Khartoum in Goodbye Julia.

"Kordofani sent me a direct message on Instagram and introduced the story to me. I told him I would be excited to be a part of it. He later flew to Dubai, where I live with my parents, to audition me. A few days later I got the good news," says Riak, who graduated in Information Technology from Malaysia in 2018, about receiving the role.

Goodbye Julia, the first Sudanese film to be screened at the Cannes festival this year, won its Un Certain Regard Prize, a win that raised possibilities of an Oscar nomination. The film, however, failed to find a place on the Oscar shortlist of 15 entries for Best Foreign Language Film prize announced on December 21.

"The award in Cannes was overwhelming, especially because it was a prize named Freedom Award," beams Yousif, who plays the role of a famous singer living in a rich Khartoum neighbourhood.

Sudanese actor-model Siran Riak, who plays the title role in Goodbye Julia. (Photo: Faizal Khan)

"Families have to start from scratch again after the conflict now. When the separation between the North and South happened in 2011, people from South Sudan living in the north went to Juba, the new capital of South Sudan. Now, after the start of war, many north Sudanese have gone to South Sudan," says Yousif, a singer in Khartoum who was among a hundred auditioned for her role.

"I am a singer and Kordofani found me on social media. He didn't want lip-sync for the character who is a singer. I was surprised to get the role. It is a really big thing for me. It is my first role ever in a film," says Yousif.

Goodbye Julia is produced by Dubai-based Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala, who directed You will Die at Twenty, shot in Sudan and premiered at the Venice film festival in 2019.

"This is a door that opened not only to Sudan, but the whole of Africa. For actors and filmmakers, this is a huge opportunity," says Riak, who moved to Uganda after the separation of south and north.

"Sudan is a poor country. Making a movie is a miracle in Sudan. The difficulties make people want to discover more and know more about the passion they have. Cinema is now born in Sudan. You Will Die at Twenty opened many doors for us. It is now Goodbye Julia. Many activists are supporting the film. This is a pleasant moment for our country," says Yousif.

"It is a huge message for peace and against the war. It is a hope for the Sudanese people. Being in the running for an Oscar nomination is enough," says Yousif.

Two million people have died in the conflict during 1983-2005. South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9, 2011 following a referendum for secession. Violence, however, broke out again in 2013.

"Sudan has made history already by going to Cannes and winning awards. Is it going to fix things? I don't know," says Riak. "But it will definitely give the people energy to start over something beautiful."