Goodbye Julia
Mohamed Kordofani, 120 minutes, Drama, in Arabic with English subtitles, Sudan, Egypt, France KSA and Sweden, 2023.
Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, Mona — a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage — tries to make amends by taking 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 won many awards including the Freedom Prize, Un Certain Regard, at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Paysages de Cinéastes, the
Roger Ebert Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Best Film Award at the Belfast Film Festival. It was also Sudan’s official submission to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film