Name: Sudanese films, music showcase resilience at Doha Film Festival
Uploaded: 2025-11-25T19:33:33.255Z
Duration: 3 min 19 s
Description: Sudanese filmmakers and musicians bring stories of resilience to Doha Film Festival, using art to resist war and dream of a free Sudan.

Sudanese filmmakers and musicians bring stories of resilience to Doha Film Festival, using art to resist war and dream of a free Sudan.

Doha

The Doha Film Festival in Qatar is featuring the work of Sudanese filmmakers and musicians, providing a platform for voices affected by the ongoing conflict in Sudan. The festival includes the Middle Eastern premiere of the documentary 'Khartoum' and the return of the award-winning film 'Sudan Remember Us,' both of which depict the hopes, dreams, and struggles of Sudanese citizens.

In addition to films, the festival also highlights performances by Sudanese musicians whose work centers on themes of resistance and survival. Organizers aim to amplify underrepresented voices and showcase the resilience of a new generation determined to reclaim their country and culture.

Sudanese films, music showcase resilience at Doha Film Festival

The conflict in Sudan has devastated much of the country and displaced millions of people. It has created what the UN calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis. But nearly 2,000 kilometers away in Qatar, the work of several of the country's filmmakers and musical artists is being showcased at this year's Doha Film Festival. The organizers say they want to amplify voices that too often go unheard. These art forms are a way to resist the conflict, which has affected the lives of millions of people and left others trapped between the warring sides. Collectively, the work from Sudan presents the hopes and dreams of the people who are using music and film to reclaim a country they believe has been taken from them. One documentary that captures this spirit is Khartoum. Which is receiving its Middle Eastern premiere at this year's festival. Sudan has been through a lot since the independence. And sometimes it feels like a curse, you know, what we've been going through. Coups and then wars, temporary councils. So it's more about, we're blessed just to be Sudanese and the culture and everything that we have. The film tells the story of five different residents of the Sudanese capital. Their personal dreams are shown in animated dreamlike sequences, contrasted with their struggles that worsen as war breaks out and they are forced from their homes. These hopes and dreams are also the focus of last year's standout film, Sudan Remember Us. Which is back by popular demand for a second year. Set in the period between the fall of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and the lead up to the conflict in April 2023. The film has gone on to win 18 international awards. We don't talk enough about the four years between 2019 and 23, before the war started, the four years where the Sudanese people were fighting for democracy. And they even invented this beautiful world, the Madaniya. Madaniya comes from Madani, civil in Arabic, so it's the civilian state. It means like power to the people, that the country is reclaimed by its own citizens. But it's not just film. This year's festival also features performances from several popular Sudanese musicians. Throughout history, if you look at Sudanese music, a lot of it is about telling our stories, about getting our voice out there, about the resistance. The music shares the same spirit of resistance and takes the listener on an immersive journey. These are stories of survival and resilience, and these are the voices of a new generation of Sudanese people, determined to resist war and external influence. A generation that dream of a country which is safe, somewhere they can be free, and a place they can call home. Joel Evans, Al Jazeera, Doha.

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