Lupita Nyong’o Joins Sudan’s Oscar Entry ‘Goodbye Julia’ As Exec Producer
Lupita Nyong’o has joined Goodbye Julia, Sudan’s entry for this year’s Best International feature race at the Oscars, as an executive producer.
Directed by Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani in his feature film debut, the pic explores the events leading up the 2011 split between Sudan’s southern and northern populations. The film made history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard.
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The film’s Cannes premiere took place just weeks after fighting broke out in Khartoum due to a clash between rival generals, which has led to the deaths of 5,000 people and uprooted seven million people.
Since Cannes, the film has also played at Karlovy Vary in its Horizons section and had been set to make its MENA premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival in October ahead of a theatrical release in the country on October 25. The fest was subsequently postponed due to the Israel-Hamar conflict. Goodbye Julia was also selected for the BFI London Film Festival.
The film stars Eiman Yousif and Sudanese model Siran Riak, in her big screen acting debut; and also features South Sudanese actor and activist Ger Duany who is known for his work supporting refugees from the region.
“Goodbye Julia is a powerful representation of the conflict happening in Sudan right now, which affects millions of lives across Eastern Africa,” Nyong’o said. “Mohamed Kordofani and the filmmakers present the issues in a beautiful, deeply personal way. I’m honored to lend my voice to help bring this film’s message to the world.”
Goodbye Julia is represented in North America by CAA Media Finance. The film is produced by Amjad Abu Alala, creator of Station Films, and Co-Produced by Ali Alarabi, the founder and CEO of Egyptian American production company Ambient Light Films. Amjad Abu Alala directed Sudan’s first ever Academy Awards submission You Will Die at Twenty in 2019, which Mohamed Kordofani worked on as well.
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