Sudan announced today, Tuesday, the nomination of the film "Goodbye Julia," written and directed by Mohamed Kordofani, to compete for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film in the 96th edition of the prestigious film awards. The film's storyline takes place in Khartoum just before South Sudan's independence from the North, where a former singer tries to atone for the guilt of killing a Southern man by hosting his widow in her home and employing her as a maid to assist her.
The national committee for selecting the Sudanese film nominee for the Oscar stated on its Facebook page, "More than half of the committee members convened to accept nominations and select the Sudanese film, despite the bloody circumstances the country has been going through since April 15."
The committee added, "It was decided that the outbreak of war should not stand as a barrier for artists, especially filmmakers, to exercise their rights to work and create, represent the name of Sudan in international forums, and contribute effectively to portraying a different image of war and destruction."
Earlier this month, the committee, formed in 2020 by a decision from the Ministry of Culture, announced that it had successfully "united 10 of its members to begin their work and start reviewing films that meet the eligibility criteria."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the preliminary list of accepted films for the Best International Feature Film Oscar competition in December, and the shortlist will be released in January. The Oscar announcing and awarding ceremony will be held on March 10, 2024, in Los Angeles, USA.
