CAIRO: Nearly two years after the overthrow of autocrat Omar Bashir, Sudan is taking steps to rejoin the international community from which it was long shunned. That includes its film industry.
For the first time in its history, Sudan has a submission for the Academy Awards. Produced by a consortium of European and Egyptian companies but with a Sudanese director and cast, “You Will Die at Twenty” will compete in the Best International Feature Film category.
The story follows a young man whose death at the age of 20 is prophesied not long after his birth, casting a shadow over his formative years, and parallels the burdens placed on a generation of Sudan’s young people.
Based on a short story by Sudanese novelist Hammour Ziyada, critics say it demonstrates that the country’s cultural scene is reawakening after decades of oppression.
The film was produced amid mass demonstrations against Bashir, who was toppled by the military in April 2019 after ruling the country for nearly 30 years.
“It was an adventure,” filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala told The Associated Press. “There were protests in the streets that had grown to a revolution by the beginning of filming.”
Sudan’s uprising erupted in late 2018, and as the number of people in the streets swelled, many of them young, the military stepped in and toppled the Islamist president. Since then, the country has embarked on a fragile transition to democracy, ending years of theocratic rule that limited artists’ freedoms.
The film’s submission was announced in November by the country’s ministry of culture, a month before the second anniversary of the start of the uprising.
It follows a narrative written by Ziyada in the early 2000s that chronicles the life of a child in 1960s in a remote village, located between the Blue and White Nile rivers. The inhabitants are largely guided by ancient Sufi beliefs and traditions, a mystical strain of Islam.
The film starts when a mother, Sakina, takes her newborn boy to a Sufi ceremony at a nearby shrine as a blessing. As a sheikh gives his blessing, a man in traditional clothing performs a meditative dance, suddenly stopping after 20 turns, falling to the ground — a bad omen.
The frightened mother appeals to the Sheikh to give an explanation. But he says, “God’s command is inevitable.” At this point, the crowd understands this is a prophecy predicting the child will die at 20.
Stunned and frustrated, the father leaves his wife and son, named Muzamil, to face their fate alone.
Muzamil grows up under the watchful eye of his overprotective mother, who wears black in anticipation of his early demise. He is haunted by the prophecy — even other children name him “the son of death.”
Despite that, Muzamil proves to be an inquisitive boy full of life. His mother allows him to go to study the Qur’an. He receives praise for his memorization and recitation of verses. Then comes a turning point.
A cinematographer, Suliman, returns to the village after years working abroad. Muzamil, who is by now working as an assistant to the village shopkeeper, gets to know him through delivering him alcohol, a social taboo.
Suliman, who lives with a prostitute, opens Muzamil’s eyes to the outside world. Through their discussions, he starts to doubt the prophecy that has governed his life so far and torn his family apart.
As he turns 19, Muzamil takes it upon himself to decide what it means to be alive, even as death beckons.
The film has received positive reviews from international critics. It premiered at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival’s parallel section, Venice Days. It won the Lion of the Future for Best First Feature — the first Sudanese film to do so. Since then, it has won at least two dozen awards at film festivals worldwide.
Abu Alala says his team tackled obstacles in making the film, thrown up by the same conservative milieu that it depicts. He blames the environment created by Bashir, who came to power in a military coup in 1989. Under his rule, limited personal freedoms meant art was viewed with suspicion by many.
One major challenge, he said, was that local residents at the initial filming location objected to their presence. The crew was forced to move, but they persevered.
“We believed that it should be done under any circumstances,” Abu Alala said. He says that it was lucky that the film’s production period coincided with the cultural watershed moment of the uprising. The previous government wouldn’t have been a proponent of his work.
The movie has also been met with commendations from inside the region.
“It is a very real and local film that makes the audience feel all of its details whenever and whoever they are,” wrote Egyptian film critic Tarik el-Shenawy.
The film is only the eighth to be made inside Sudan. Abu Alala says that its selection shows Sudan has countless stories that remain untold.
“There wasn’t a film industry existing in Sudan — only individual attempts ... Sudan’s rulers — communists or Islamists — were not interested in cinema. They just were interested in having artists on their sides,” he said.
Now, he hopes that he and other filmmakers will have the freedom to share Sudan’s stories with the world.
A Sudan in transition presents first-ever film for Oscars
https://arab.news/w9dvs
A Sudan in transition presents first-ever film for Oscars
- Muzamil grows up under the watchful eye of his overprotective mother, who wears black in anticipation of his early demise. He is haunted by the prophecy — even other children name him “the son of death”
Photographs in Doha’s Tasweer photo festival explore belonging, identity and home in the Arab world
DOHA: A young Sudanese man sits in a chair dressed in an elegant off-white three-piece suit. He holds a small shotgun in one hand which he eyes solemnly while resting against the wall behind him on a crimson red tapestry is a rifle. The photograph is titled “Life Won’t Stop” and is one of several images by Sudanese photographer Mosab Abushama documenting his friend’s wedding in Omdurman, Sudan, a city constantly targeted by airstrikes.
The photograph is on view as part of the show “Tadween,” referring to the concept of recording of news and emotions through writing, photography, audio or video, and is one of several exhibitions in the third edition of Doha’s Tasweer Photo Festival, which runs until June 20.
“Despite the clashes and random shelling in the city, the wedding was a simple but joyous occasion with family and friends,” wrote in the caption for the work. “The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, brought horrors and displacement, forcing me to leave my childhood home and move to another part of the city. It was a time none of us ever expected to live through. Yet, this wedding was a reminder of the joy of everyday life still possible amidst the tragedy and despair.”
Abushama’s photograph earned recognition at the 2025 World Press Photo Awards in the Singles Africa category.
Abushama’s poignant image is one of many on show this year in the Tasweer Photo Festival that prompt deep reflection and compassion.
One of the numerous exhibitions on view is “Obliteration — Surviving The Inferno: Gaza’s Battle for Existence.” The images are displayed outside in Doha’s Katara Cultural Village unfolding in five stages to capture each chapter thus far of the war on Gaza. Each image, such as Abdulrahman Zaqout’s “When Food and Water Become Weapons,” has been shot by a Gazan photographer on the ground to witness and experience the catastrophe. From children extending bowls for food to mothers comforting terrified children, each image recounts the tales of horror that continue to unfold as the war in Gaza continues.
“As I Lay Between Two Seas,” another exhibition in the festival, is at the Doha Fire Station. Curated by Meriem Berrada, an independent curator and artistic director of the Museum of Contemporary African Art Al Maaden in Marrakech, the exhibition is a poignant and poetic display of 25 photographers from the Arab world and its diasporas grappling and coming to terms with ideas of identity, belonging and home.
“(The exhibition) approaches belonging not as a fixed state, but as a fluid, evolving condition shaped by memory, distance, rupture, and imagination,” Berrada told Arab News. “The exhibition unfolds through a non-linear narrative that invites diverse temporalities and perspectives to coexist.”
The title of the exhibition is drawn from a photographic series by Ali Al-Shehabi that conjures up a metaphor that speaks to the fluid, ever changing idea of understanding the self.
“Guided by the metaphor of the sea — shifting, unstable, and expansive — it draws inspiration from poets of the region whose writings on exile and longing offer a conceptual and emotional foundation,” Berrada said. “The selected works span a wide spectrum from documentary to conceptual and abstract practices. These works examine family and community dynamics, spiritual and philosophical relationships, and the sociopolitical structures that influence selfhood. They explore the symbolic ties to one’s roots, often shaped by personal memory and collective histories.”
From Lebanese artist Ziad Antar’s dreamy and edgy photographs of abandoned and unfinished buildings in Beirut and on the Lebanese coast and Saudi artist Moath Alofi’s series of desolated mosques along the winding road to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, to Palestinian Taysir Batniji’s “Just in Case #2” (2024), portraying images of a series of keys representative of feelings of loss and exile, the photographic works on show oscillate between feelings of pride, belonging, loss and longing.
A poem by Palestinian poet and author Mahmoud Darwish titled “I Belong There,” appears on one wall between the display of several photographs reflecting through words many of the feelings expressed in the images on display. “I belong there. I have many memories. I was born as everyone is born […] I have lived on the land long before swords turned man into prey. I belong there.”
Elsewhere in Tasweer, a solo exhibition at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art on the works of Moroccan photographer and filmmaker Daoud Aoulad-Syad titled “Territories of the Instant” presents the essence of Moroccan popular culture and remote regions in the country. Another exhibition, “Threads of Light: Stories from the Tasweer Single Image Awards,” presents 31 captivating images from 2023 and 2024 awards highlighting the extraordinary in daily life, including sacred traditions in Oman, dynamic street scenes in Yemen and moments of contemporary change in Iraq and picturesque marine views of traditional boats in Doha.
As Berrada said of the festival, which can arguably apply to numerous works and shows in Tasweer this year: “It also reflects on the photographic medium itself — how image-making can question fixed and often deterministic categories of belonging and become a powerful tool for reimagining identity in a deeply interconnected world.”
Saudi ‘farm for experimentation’ on show in Milan exhibition
- The curators of the Saudi Pavilion at the Triennale Milano discuss their Al-Ahsa-inspired work
AL-AHSA: Saudi Arabia’s lush oasis of Al-Ahsa will be in full bloom in Italy next week at the 24th Triennale Milano International Exhibition, which runs from May 13 to Nov. 9 at Milan’s Palazzo dell’Arte.
Al-Ahsa is officially recognized as the world’s largest oasis, and is home to more than 2.5 million date palms.
The Kingdom’s debut pavilion at the exhibition is “Maghras: A Farm for Experimentation,” which, according to the exhibition’s website, is “structured as a transplanted maghras — a unit of land demarcated by four palm trees” and “symbolically frames the dialogues, material traces, soundscapes of field recordings, and speculative gestures emerging from the space.”
The pavilion, commissioned by the Architecture and Design Commission under the Ministry of Culture, and curated by longtime friends Lulu Almana and Sara Al-Omran, along with US-based creative director Alejandro Stein, is inspired by Al-Ahsa’s Al-Sbakh Farm, established by the late Noura AlMousa. The farm is now managed by the Abdulmonem Alrashed Humanitarian Foundation (named after its founder, AlMousa’s son) and the Noura AlMousa House for Culture and Arts, housed in AlMousa’s former home.
“We’re really continuing on the lineage of the matriarch,” Al-Omran tells Arab News when we meet the curators at the farm. “Her spirit feels very present because she really cared about craft and culture.”
Almana and Al-Omran commissioned three Saudi artists to work on the pavilion: Leen Ajlan, a London-based designer from Jeddah; Mohammad Alfaraj, a contemporary artist whose family have been farming in Al-Ahsa for generations; and Tara Aldughaither, founder of Sawtasura, an audio research and learning platform focused primarily on female voices.
Through videos, sound installations, and participatory programs, the pavilion will invite visitors to engage with the evolving agricultural ecosystems of Al-Ahsa.
The maghras concept symbolically ties the exhibition to the land, offering an immersive experience that bridges past traditions with contemporary agricultural practices.
“Technically, there are three participating artists but it’s more than that — there is a big team,” Almana says. “Then there’s all the research that’s being displayed through illustrations and maps and texts that the team worked on. There’s also all the programs and workshops that have been a big part of it.” The fruits of this collective effort will be published in a book later this year.
Al-Omran explains that her grandparents are from Al-Ahsa. “I always hear, particularly from my grandfather, these stories of Al-Ahsa. And when he speaks about it, it feels like this mythical place that doesn’t really connect to what I see here (now),” she says. “I grew up in (Alkhobar), but would come here every week. Many of my best memories were here; running around on the farm, seeing the frogs and the rabbits and the sheep and playing around. And also understanding seasons and seeing crops and produce. But through conversations with him, I saw this contrast of the place that he talks about and the place I’m witnessing. And I realize that it’s really within a lifetime that the environment has shifted so much.”
Al-Omran’s family, including her grandfather, attended the opening event at Al-Sbakh Farm last autumn, where they saw their hometown celebrated in a new light.
“They’re proud. They’re really happy to see that Al-Ahsa is spoken about,” Al-Omran says. “They see that it’s not just about the past, but a way of thinking about the future.”
The unfolding narrative of the project has emphasized community engagement. “It was really nice and natural,” says Almana. “It didn’t feel forced in any way. People were saying, ‘You’re doing something important.’ It felt impactful despite its small gestures.”
After nearly a decade of living abroad in large, congested cities including London and New York, Almana says the initial intention for this project, for her, “was that I needed to get rooted into a place, build knowledge, and build a community of like-minded people who share similar concerns, questions and values: How do we preserve the identity of a place that’s constantly changing? How do we share our concerns and ideas for regeneration, for reviving certain things? It matters to build a community around these questions. Then everything becomes more meaningful and interesting.”
Almana had only visited Al-Ahsa briefly up until five years ago, during COVID, when she finally spent a significant amount of time there. She found the place inspirational. “It hit me that there’s this urban-rural tension. The big cities get attention, but the rural, historic agricultural places are overshadowed. I wanted to dive into agriculture and build a community of like-minded people,” she says.
Almana’s partnership with Al-Omran added an insider’s perspective to the project. In Milan, visitors will experience the “true essence” of Al-Ahsa, the pair say.
“We really wanted to represent Maghras in the most authentic way,” Almana explains. “It’s a community-based project within a morphing landscape, not just a static thing.”
And Milan, she hopes, is just the start. “We want this to grow into something longer-term, and we’ve conveyed that to the ministry, which supports this vision,” she says.
Al-Omran stresses the amount of research that was involved in creating the pavilion. “We’re looking at a display of research material that we assembled for our first event back in October. And at that point we had spent about three or four months looking at archival research and doing a lot of interviews.”
The first activation was both a presentation and a checkpoint.
“We wanted to take a moment to sift through the material we’d come across and the conversations we’d listened to. It was important to do that during the opening, where we welcomed the community and spoke about the project, because it was important to hear people’s reflections on the research as it emerges; we felt that would influence the direction,” she says.
“Sometimes we don’t really realize what’s lost until generations have passed. And it felt like we were in a moment where the shifts are happening,” she continues. “So it felt urgent to talk about it now, while that generation is still around.”
Recipes for Success: Chef Soner Muran offers advice and a tasty fried mussels recipe
DUBAI: Soner Muran may have sharpened his culinary skills at one of Turkey’s top schools, but it was his grandmother’s cooking that lit the initial fire.
“My earliest memory is grilling sardines with my grandmother. The smell of the sea and the fire stayed with me. I knew early on this was what I wanted to do,” Muran tells Arab News.
“I started studying in the most famous chef school in Turkey (Bolu Mengen Culinary School) when I was 14. After four years of education, I started working in Istanbul’s fine-dining restaurants,” he continues.
Muran is now head chef at Sur.Dubai — inspired by SurBalik, a seafood restaurant that has been a cornerstone of Istanbul’s culinary scene for 20 years. Sur.Dubai has a Mediterranean-inspired menu that highlights the coastal heritage of Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean regions.
“We cook fish over a wood fire, which is rare in Dubai,” says Muran. “That fire adds depth, smoke, and tradition. Our flavors are bold but simply focused on quality seafood, modern touches, treated with respect.”
Here, Muran talks about his love for seafood and his favorite dish to cook, and shares a simple fried mussels recipe.
What was the most common mistake you made when you were starting out?
I used too many ingredients. I thought more meant better. But great cooking is about balance, not showing off. Now, I focus on fewer elements, greater techniques, and give extra care to every single ingredient in a dish.
What’s your top tip for amateur chefs (cooking at home)?
Reduce ready-made items. If possible, avoid buying them altogether. Good food takes a little time, even if it’s simple. Take your time to cook better food. Also, taste as you go. Trust your senses.
What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?
Olive oil. A splash of acidity can lift flavors, balance richness and bring freshness. Especially with seafood, it’s magic.
When you go out to eat, do you find yourself critiquing the food?
Yes, it’s hard to switch off. I don’t judge harshly, but I notice details.
What’s the most common issue you find in other restaurants?
The most common issue is lack of seasoning or dishes that try to do too much.
What’s your favorite cuisine?
Seafood, always. I like to see how other chefs handle it — how fresh it is, how it’s cooked, what flavors they use. It tells me a lot about the restaurant. And I just love seafood; it’s clean, light, and full of character.
What’s your go-to dish if you have to cook something quickly at home?
A simple risotto with parmesan and lemon. It’s comforting, quick if you keep stirring, and you can adjust it based on what you have — like peas, herbs, or shrimp. It feels special even when it’s simple.
What customer request most frustrates you?
When guests ask for a perfectly cooked fish, then ask for it well done. Or when people expect fast-food timing from a wood-fire kitchen. Good things take time.
What’s your favorite dish to cook?
Olive oil braised root vegetables with a nicely grilled wild seabass together with some butter-glazed mussels.
What’s the most difficult dish for you to get right (whether on your current menu or not)?
Bouillabaisse. It’s a traditional French seafood stew, but making it properly is complex. The broth needs depth from the fish bones, shellfish, and herbs. Timing is everything — each seafood needs different cooking times. It’s a dish that tests your control and your palate.
As a head chef, what are you like? Are you a disciplinarian?
I’m focused but fair. I don’t shout — I lead by example. I want my team to love what they do but also take pride in doing it well. Respect is key, both ways.
Chef Soner’s fried mussels recipe
Mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, salt, pepper, and cold sparkling water into a thick batter.
Dip cleaned mussels in batter.
Deep fry at 180°C until golden (2–3 mins).
Drain and serve hot with tarator sauce.
Tarator Sauce
Soak and squeeze stale bread (1 cup).
Blend with 1/2 cup walnuts, 3–4 garlic cloves, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, and salt.
Add water if needed for a smooth texture.
Serving Tip:
Serve with pickles and fresh coriander leaves for extra flavor.
Deal signed to promote Saudi cultural heritage
- MoC signs agreement with Boutique Group
- Agreement covers several cultural fields
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture has signed a cooperation agreement with Boutique Group to promote the Kingdom’s rich heritage.
Deputy Minister of Culture for National Partnerships and Talent Development Noha Kattan signed the agreement with Boutique Group CEO Christophe Mares in Diriyah.
Kattan emphasized that the partnership aligns with the ministry’s goals of preserving the nation’s heritage and culture, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
She added that the agreement honors the Kingdom’s rich history and contributes to building a future that values tradition and encourages global cultural creativity.
Mares expressed his company’s pleasure in the new partnership, which will focus on providing a unique and luxurious experience that reflects Saudi Arabia’s cultural identity.
He said the company will represent each region’s culture by incorporating its visual styles, sounds, and traditions into palace operations.
The agreement covers several cultural fields to showcase the Kingdom’s heritage in creative and contemporary ways, the SPA reported.
This will be achieved by integrating Saudi cuisine into the culinary experience, dressing hotel staff in traditional attire, and infusing palace designs with cultural symbols.
Jameela Jamil lands role in new film on Korea
DUBAI: Actress, body positivity activist and presenter Jameela Jamil, known for her role in “The Good Place,” is set to star in “Pyongyang Home Video,” a new drama based on true events.
She will star alongside “Squid Game” actor Won Ji-an.
The film follows North Korean sisters Nari (Ji-an) and Hana, who grow up secretly watching banned Hollywood movies. When their father’s black market VHS operation is exposed by a neighbor, the sisters are forced to flee the country. As they navigate their dangerous escape, they use scenes from their favorite films to deal with the mental toll the journey takes on them. Years later, Nari meets American talk show host Serena (Jamil), who vows to reunite the sisters on live television — only for the broadcast to take an unforeseen and revealing turn.
Hailing from Imagine Entertainment and South Korea’s Desert Bloom Pictures, the film will be directed by award-winning Korean filmmaker Yoon Sung-hyun, famous for his movie “Bleak Night.”
The screenplay comes from Liz Kerin, an American screenwriter, novelist and acclaimed playwright best known for the vampire series “Night’s Edge.”
Jamil shared the news on Instagram, writing: “She’s doing a proper movie!!!!”
The actress has a few productions in the works.
Jamil is set to star in “Hysterical,” a feminist dramedy created by Olivia Lee and loosely based on real-life events involving controversial internet personality Andrew Tate.
Jamil stars alongside Naomie Harris and Romesh Ranganathan.
Jamil has also lent her voice to the Pixar animated film, “Elio,” which is set for release on June 20. Jamil will be voicing the character of Ambassador Questa.
“Elio” follows an 11-year-old boy named Elio, who accidentally becomes the ambassador for Earth after being transported across the galaxy.
The movie also features the voices of Yonas Kibreab as Elio, Remy Edgerly as his alien best friend Glordon, Academy Award winner Zoe Saldana as Elio’s Aunt Olga, Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon, and Shirley Henderson as OOOOO.
Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina, the film is produced by Mary Alice Drumm.
