Khartoum Berlinale
Five people navigate the dangerous landscape of war-torn Sudan, their stories intertwine as they pursue dreams, face political turmoil, and overcome obstacles. They struggle for freedom and survival in a chaotic country.
Khartoum, Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil Cox
A refreshing documentary, Khartoum (2025) uses its 80-minute running time to highlight hope over horror and centre the experiences of five individuals, out of ten million, forced to choose between death and displacement as civil war rages in Sudan.
The navigation of daily life, captured by emerging filmmakers on donated iPhone 14s, is punctured as paramilitary Rapid Support Forces storm the streets of the capital, with filming halted as a result. In an effort to bring stories out of statistics, production members and participants recommit to the project once they reach safety in Nairobi, Kenya, supplementing the raw street footage with green screens and animated dreamscapes.
“Production decisions, whilst made from necessity, bring artistic creativity and joyful buoyancy”
The fate of a nation is in the hands of, “stupid adults” who cannot look beyond their own power and self- interest, and whilst they refuse to notice Khartoum, or the wider country; the city, is all our five protagonists see, awake and in their dreams.
Production decisions, whilst made from necessity, bring artistic creativity and joyful buoyancy, generating a belief that whilst Lokain, Wilson, Khadmallah, Jawad and Maidi do not know where they will end up living, living is what they will do.
Release Date: February 15th 2025 (Berlinale)
Directed by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil Cox
Written by Phil Cox
Produced by Tom Rhodes, Anne Sundberg, Laura Choi Raycroft, Justin Lacob, Bryn Mooser, Judy Kibinge, Susan Mbogo
With Khadmallah, Majdi, Jawad, Lokain, Wilson
Editing by Yusef Jubeh
Runtime: 80 minutes