Khartoum

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors — reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war.

In 2022, Sudanese filmmakers Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, and Timeea Ahmed joined with British director Phil Cox to begin chronicling the lives of their five participants. After a military coup, a war broke out that displaced over 10 million people, including the filmmakers and their subjects. Khartoum boldly demonstrates determination and invention borne out of necessity as the film team adapts their project to their new reality. Blending footage shot before their escape with imaginative green screen sequences guided by their participants, the filmmakers create a safe space for Majdi, Khadmallah, Jawad, Lokain, and Wilson to share and process their experiences of conflict and exile, but not without moments of hope and joy. The result is a singular, emotional, and personal journey into a devastating conflict that has gone underreported in the West.

Run time: 80 minutes

Language: Arabic with English subtitles