Director Mohamed Kordofani on the ‘Systematic Racism’ Depicted in ‘Goodbye Julia,’ Sudan’s First Film at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani will soon be in Cannes with “Goodbye Julia,” a drama that he says reflects the “systematic racism” that led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and is, albeit indirectly, closely connected with the conflict that erupted in the country in April.

The powerful film, which is premiering in Un Certain Regard, marks the first Sudanese feature to bow from the Croisette. But there is an even greater historic significance to “Goodbye Julia,” in which two women – one from the North, the other from the South – are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.

It’s the hope that “it can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people,” Kordofani says. Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,” which became Sudan’s first Oscar submission in 2020 — “Goodbye Julia” stars Eiman Yousif; supermodel Siran Riak, a former Miss South Sudan; Nazar Goma and Germany Duany.

Mad Solutions is handling international sales. Kordofani, from Bahrein, spoke to Variety about the relevance of this film and the hope that, after Cannes, “Goodbye Julia” will be seen in his war-torn country. Obviously, this is a timely film, but the situation in Sudan is complicated. “Goodbye Julia” reflects the effect of the struggle between secessionist fighters in the South and the government in Khartoum in the North that has consumed Sudan for decades, claiming millions of lives.