Portal:African cinema/Selected score/3
Goodbye Julia (Arabic: وداعا جوليا, romanized: Wadāʻan Jūlyā) is a 2023 Sudanese drama directed by Mohamed Kordofani set in Khartoum against the backdrop of events that led to the South Sudanese 2011 referendum for independence from the North. It is the first movie from Sudan ever to be presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Freedom Prize and the country's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards, Sudan's second ever to the award.
The film stars Sudanese singer Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak, a first-time actress and former Miss South Sudan, in the title roles of Mona and Julia. Goodbye Julia tells the story of two women who represent the complicated relationship and differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. Mona, an upper-middle class Arab Muslim singer from the North, seeks to attenuate her feelings of guilt for causing the death of a southern man (Ger Duany) by employing his unsuspecting widow Julia, a Christian of Central African origin, as her maid.
The musical score was composed by Sudanese producer and musician Mazin Hamid known mostly for his popular music videos and was recorded under tight deadline in Khartoum when war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. Kordofani said that the film’s soundtrack, which includes numerous songs from both South and North Sudan was intended to reflect Sudan’s shared culture and ties. "Clearly, through the film’s score...Mazin Hamid makes us see that instead of spending our lives separated, this is what we could have celebrated. [...] Mona sings a song by a late popular Sudanese singer, Sayed Khalifa in a church, with a composition including African accents. There are numerous songs from North and South Sudan, representing different cultures, and an original song closing the film".
The director also has stated that he integrated music in Goodbye Julia to make it more accessible to cinephiles.