The ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine receive extensive global media coverage, despite the controversy surrounding them. This focus creates an ‘eclipse effect’, often overshadowing other, equally painful but more local conflicts around the world. One such conflict is the civil war in Sudan, which remains largely unknown to many in the West.
That’s why a film like Khartoum — a collaborative project between the United Kingdom, Sudan, Germany, and Qatar — is so important.
Recently presented at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festivalthe film highlights the brutal everyday reality and struggle for survival in Sudan. It also takes an original approach, offering more than just a focus on grim realities.
In 2022, the four emerging Sudanese filmmakers Anas saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmadand Timeea Mohamed Ahmedalongside the British director-writer Phil Coxbegan documenting the lives and dreams of five very different citizens of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
These included the twelve-year-old street boy Lokain and his slightly younger best friend Wilson, who set out on a mission in the city’s rubbish dumps to buy two shirts.
Also featured is young single mother and tea vendor Khadmallah, who balances serving her daily customers with studying math to pursue her dream of starting her own business.
Then there is the Sufi Rastafarian and resistance volunteer Jawad, who rides his motorcycle while protesting for a civilian government against the military.
And finally, middle-aged Majdi, a civil servant, who escapes the routine of office life by racing pigeons with his son.
The Sudanese movies, Island after Island, and Timeaa Mohamed, or Isaed, or Saeda [Courtesy of Native Voice Films]
Animating dreamscapes
As filming began, Sudan was facing a military leadership that had overthrown the previous civilian government. Not long after, war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, displacing over ten million people.
The four filmmakers, together with the participants, fled to East Africa but continued their creative storytelling, combining animation, green screen reconstructions, and documentary ‘dreamscapes’. They eventually came up with a surrealistic, bittersweet depiction in bright colours that rose amidst the ashes.
On screen, Majdi soars on a racing pigeon, smoking shisha, as his city burns below. Lokain and Wilson ride a lion through militias armed with guns. Jawad ascends above the Sudanese pyramids, only to land in the Hollywood Hills. Khadmallah sings a hopeful song, dreaming of safeguarding her child beneath a blooming tree on the Nuba Mountains.
Striving to express the experience of becoming refugees for the first time, the artists give free rein to their imagination, replacing the unbearable reality.
On one hand, they gather strength to overcome the trial with an unknown outcome, while on the other, they do their best to reach the audience through the artistic impulse that tends to connect people from different worlds on an irrational level.
Street boys Lokain and Wilson collecting bottles [Courtesy of Native Voice Films]
Participant Khadmallah and daughter under a Nubian tree in a dream sequence [Courtesy of Native Voice Films]
Behind the scenes
This original cinematic project was conceived in 2022 during a small documentary workshop initiated by Phil and in collaboration with Talking packagesCEO of the Sudan Film Factory in Khartoum.
As filming in Khartoum became increasingly dangerous due to ongoing riots, protests, and arrests, production was halted in April 2023 when war broke out and warplanes bombed Khartoum while armed militias took over the streets.
Producers Giovanna Stopponi and Talal immediately redirected the remaining funds to help the Sudanese filmmakers escape to safety in East Africa.
The production team regrouped and set out to find and help the remaining participants – Khadmallah, Majdi, Jawad, Lokain, and Wilson – escape Khartoum.
Over several months in late 2023 and early 2024, the team used secret routes to bring each participant to Kenya. Eventually, they all gathered in one building as refugees, determined to finish the film that had begun before the war, aiming to create a work that truly represented Sudan and its people.
Under Phil’s creative direction, the filmmakers and participants embarked on green screen reconstructions of their own stories, using their voices, alongside graphic animation, interviews, and ‘dreamscapes’ or ‘dream reversions’.
These elements were organically integrated with the original footage shot on iPhones before the war, shaping this cinematic journey’s unique visual style and dreamlike atmosphere.
A still from the movie which shows the filmmakers helping the participants re-enact their experiences [Courtesy of Native Voice Films]
Reaching western audiences
The dangerous political situation intensified the conditions under which the film was created. On the other hand, it provoked the filmmakers’ visionary imagination, enabling them to overcome the impossible circumstances and complete their project. Life’s curse took the shape of an artistic blessing.
As a result, Khartoum begins as a raw, reality-driven observational journey that gradually transforms into a moving, kaleidoscopic fairytale, using collage principles, dynamic storytelling, and rhythmic montage, all with an organically interwoven soundtrack.
And unintentionally, it catches the eye of the Western viewer, spoiled by a restless entertainment environment. This is a viewer who needs twists and turns, and adventures to feel engaged, and to learn something about a place beyond their usual scope through the stories of its vibrant inhabitants. The defect has been successfully turned into an effect without necessarily being sought after.
The most inspiring aspect about Khartoum is that, despite revealing atrocities, it is not a mourning film focused solely on the grief of the city.
Khartoum proves that it is possible to make a colourful film about a place at war, while not being cynical in narrating in a cheerful way the story of people fleeing hell.
Pain is present and outspoken but is not allowed to take over – a wise way to preserve dignity and remain hopeful, even in the most hopeless moments.
[Cover photo: The participants of ‘Khartoum’ appear in one of the animated sequences (c) Native Voice Films]
Mariana Hristova is a freelance film critic, cultural journalist, and programmer. She contributes to national and international outlets and has curated programs for Filmoteca De Catalunya, Arxiu Xcèntric, goEast Wiesbaden, etc. Her professional interests include cinema from the European peripheries and archival and amateur films
