AWARDS GIVEN TO 12 PROJECTS BY SUDANESE FILMMAKERS
“The combination of good cinematic and artistic capacities will allow compelling stories about Sudan’s past, present and future to reach a domestic audience and the outside world”, said the Swedish Ambassador to Sudan, Ms Signe Burgstaller, at an award ceremony for Sudanese filmmakers hosted by the Embassy of Sweden in Khartoum on 29 August 2022.
12 Sudanese film projects received international awards at the ceremony in recognition of the filmmakers’ creativity and hard work. They were among 20 Sudanese filmmakers who participated in the workshop “Where Stories Count”, in which they were trained on how to create a successful pitch for a film idea. It was the last in a series of film training workshops organised by the Global Film and Media Initiative (GFMI) and supported by the British Council.
The Director of the British Council, Stephen Forbes, said, “These awards are a fantastic opportunity for Sudanese filmmakers to showcase their skills. They will also provide a platform for them to engage internationally and develop networks at international film festivals, which is essential for obtaining funding for film projects. The British Council is so pleased to have been working with Global Film and Media Initiative on this project which is contributing to the development of the film industry in Sudan.”
The pitching workshop, “Where Stories Count”, conducted by the distinguished Belgian film professional Paul Pauwels, was the first of its kind in Sudan and marked a significant step forward for the Sudanese film community. For Sudanese filmmakers, learning to present their projects to collaborators, festivals, funders, and co-producers worldwide is a critical part of accessing the international marketplace.
On 28 August 2022, the projects were presented to a panel of veteran filmmakers and a jury consisting of Sara Gadallah, Amjad Abu Alala, and Ingrid Lill Høgtun.
The subsequent award ceremony marked the closing of the 2nd edition of the SHASHA film-training lab, a series of workshops supported by the British Council and funded by the European Union through EUNIC. It focused on building the technical capacities and expertise of the Sudanese film industry, which stretched from ideation, protocol, co-production scriptwriting, post-production, sound, lighting and finally to pitching.
Below, please find a list of award recipients along with the international organizations who presented them.
CANDY SHOP by Mai Aljizouly and Enan Mohamed and
WE GO THE DISTANCES by Samia Mohamed
Awards by the Aswan International Women Film Festival
HEAVEN`S UPROAR DAY by Mohammed Altaj Musa
Award by the British Council Sudan
BOUGAINVILLEA by Yasir Faiz and Ibrahim Ahmed
Award by The Cell Studios, Cairo
LAMP IN THE DARK by Eltayeb Madhi
Award by Cairo Film Connection (Cairo Film Festival)
AL GUGU by Mohamed Elmur
Award by Gemini Africa
LAMP IN THE DARK by Eltayeb Madhi
and
TANZEEL by Amro Mohamed Alamin and Wahaj Rawja
Awards by Göteborg Film Fund (Göteborg Film Festival)
25 OCTOBER by Faiz Hassan Alhassan
Award by The Global Film and Media Initiative (GFMI)
SPARY: HANDS AND SANDS by Ahmed Shams Eldin Younis
Award by Greener Screen
UNFORTUNATE FORTUNE by Mohamed Elsadig
Award by IEFTA - The International Emerging Film Talent Association
CHANTS OF THE REVOLUTION by Marwa Jalal and Hassan Zaroug
and
THE SPECTERS OF ALHOOT by Ahmad Mahmoud
Awards by by Malmö Arab Film Festival
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Background
For more information about the film projects please go to the booklet “Where Stories Count”.
About GFMI
The Global Film and Media Initiative (GFMI) is a Swedish non-profit film organization with a mission to support film and media through developing socially responsible storytelling, training, research, production, and festival support. It focuses on developing and leading initiatives for talented and aspiring filmmakers, writers, and producers to develop the tools, competencies, and networks they need to support their work locally and internationally.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.
https://sudan.britishcouncil.org/en
About the Jury
Sara Gadallah, a Sudanese director and producer, is the President of the Board of the Shasha Foundation.
Sudanese director and producer Amjad Abu Alala latest feature film as director and co-producer, You Will Die at Twenty, won the Lion of the Future award at the Venice film festival and another 20 awards at Arab and international film festivals and became the first Oscar nomination in history from Sudan.
Ingrid Lill Høgtun, a Norwegian film producer and Managing Director of the production company Barentsfilm has produced more than 30 films, including co-producing “You Will Die at Twenty”.
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