In the lead-up to the secession of South Sudan, Mona (Eiman Yousif), a well-to-do retired singer from the North, becomes complicit in hushing up the murder of a Southerner at the hands of her overtly prejudiced husband (Nazar Gomaa). Guilt-ridden about her role in catalyzing this turn of events, Mona hires the victim’s unknowing widow Julia (Siran Riak) as her live-in maid in a secret bid at making amends. Whilst a complicated friendship blooms between the two women, the threat of discovery looms ever-present.
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Freedom Prize, Mohamed Kordofani’s artfully composed drama made history this year as the first-ever Sudanese feature to play in Cannes. A sensitive and unflinching examination of the fraught relationship between Sudan’s Arab North and non-Arab South, Goodbye Julia weaves a thoroughly engaging tale of deceit and self-revelation, charting its protagonists’ gradual awakening to the social inequities and inherited legacy of racism that would motivate an entire nation to vote almost unanimously for its separation.
Freedom Prize, Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2023
A prizewinner in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, Mohamed Kordofani’s well-performed deep cut into Sudan’s recent history unfolds like a morality thriller.
Variety
Media Partner
Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Goma, Ger Duany, Stephanos James Peter
Sudan
2023
Panorama
In Arabic with English subtitles
Graphic Violence, Racial Violence
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Amjad Abu Alala, Mohamed Omda, Ali Alarabi
Screenwriter
Mohamed Kordofani
Cinematography
Pierre de Villiers
Editor
Heba Othman
Production Design
Issa Kandil
Original Music
Mazin Hamid
Director
Mohamed Kordofani
Mohamed Kordofani is a Sudanese filmmaker. His debut feature film, Goodbye Julia, won the Freedom Prize after its International Premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival. For his other works, he has also won the NAAS Award for best Arab film at Carthage Film Festival (JCC), The Jury Award at Oran International Arab Film Festival and The Arnone-Belavite Peligrini Award at FCAAA in Milan.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Richest Woman in the World
Isabelle Huppert plays cosmetics CEO Marianne in this teasingly ambivalent satire inspired by the Bettancourt Affair, when L'Oreal heir Francoise Bettancourt scandalized France by frittering away her fortune on a notorious celebrity photographer.
Departures
Two lads meet at an airport gate and begin monthly trips to Amsterdam together. Their chemistry is off the charts, but it's Jake who's calls the shots while Benji is the one who's emotionally invested. Comparisons to Pillion and Trainspotting are on mark.
The Python Hunt
Strange but true: the Florida Everglades are overrun with unwanted visitors. Not tourists, but invasive Burmese pythons decimating the local critters. The state's solution: an annual contest: $10 000 to whomever bags the most snakes in ten days.
Mistura
This foodie film from Peru tells the story of a newly single socialite reinventing herself — and the local cuisine — after her husband has left her for a younger woman. Along the way, she finds support from unexpected places...