About 50 people packed the Cinemark Sequoia Theatre in Mill Valley last Friday to see ‘Goodbye Julia’, Sudan’s official entry into the 96th annual Academy Awards this year for Best International Feature.
The film, by Mohamed Kordofani, made history at Cannes as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard category. It’s set at a tumultuous time for Sudan- the period leading up to the 2011 referendum that led to the secession of South Sudan from Sudan.
The film's U.S. premiere was held over two weekday screenings at Mill Valley. Members of the Bay Area Sudanese community made both days- some taking off from work, some traveling more than 60 miles from as far as Santa Clara, some donning traditional clothing from Sudan and South Sudan.
I attended the Friday screening with a group of fellow Sudanese friends and community members, and the first thought I had as we walked into the theatre was that - this film was especially poignant today for people from Sudan. Like the film itself, the screening comes at a time of turmoil in the country.
On April 15, fighting broke out between the army and RSF militias in an ongoing war that has killed thousands and displaced more than 5 million people inside and outside the country, according to the U.N.
Militias invaded and occupied homes, destroyed and ransacked towns and cities- including the capital, Khartoum, where the film is set.
Thousands of miles away, on that cool Friday morning in Mill Valley, these Sudanese film goers had the war back home front and center on their minds. Some friends skipped the screening for fear that it would be too intense to watch at this time, too traumatic, and too real at this time of war.
For many, their own neighborhoods in Sudan have become ghost towns, and their own homes are now occupied by militia, with families having fled to safety elsewhere. Still some have had to endure the ultimate loss - family killed in the conflict.
That’s why seeing this film, at this time, was especially significant for this crowd, especially poignant- but especially difficult.
Kordofani’s drama tells an intimate story of two women- Mona, a Northern woman who is tormented by guilt after she accidentally causes the death of a Southern man- the husband of a woman named Julia. Through their relationship, the film explores North-South dynamics, politics, religion, and the racism and discrimination targeted at South Sudanese- all in raw dialog and realism.
The film is set in the capital Khartoum. From the opening scenes, you could hear the sniffles and coughs of people starting to choke up around me in the room. The scenes of Mona and Julia just in their homes, turning on the stove, making tea - seemingly mundane tasks- were more than enough to bring many to tears.
Little did Kordofani know when he filmed it, that his film would bear a whole new meaning today- that seeing Khartoum in its pre war state would evoke not only warm feelings of immigrant nostalgia, but also the grueling pain of trauma.
The city itself and all its features felt like they were also characters in the film- the details of everyday life; from buildings like the neighborhood corner store, the mosques and churches, to the music and Nile waters.
The frank, realistic dialog and scenes of oppression and racial tensions rampant at this time added to the intensity of the film, and the film going experience. Sudan has had a sparse history of filmmaking. So, for many Sudanese I talked to, this was one of the first films where they saw an unembellished representation of Sudan and Sudanese life on the big screen- the beautiful, the problematic, and the downright ugly. Many of the very things that caused, and continue to cause, conflict in Sudan.
However, amid the intensity, Kordofani still managed to infuse the film with tenderness, sweetness and humor, in addition to insider cultural terms and mannerisms that only a Sudanese could appreciate- like secret messages just for his people. These created welcome moments of relief as Mona and Julia navigated their complex relationship in the midst of the suspicion, guilt and tense unrest all around them.
In doing that, Kordofani created a world we all recognized- intricate and complicated.
By the closing credits, there was not a Sudanese dry eye in the theatre.
After the film, attendees hugged and cried. Non Sudanese locals asked questions about Sudan, and comforted some who were weeping. People stood outside the theatre chatting, processing.
‘Goodbye Julia’ created a moment of shared community pain and longing for a place that will probably never be the same. It was also a moment of pride in Kordofani and his team, in the film’s success and global acclaim. And, in the end, a moment of connection and, hopefully, healing.
Whether or not ‘Goodbye Julia’ is officially nominated for the Oscar for Best International Feature, it won the hearts of these filmgoers on the Bay Area stop of its North American tour this fall- and will have us talking about it for a long time.
