MAD Solutions’ is sending three titles from its distribution slate to the 2024 edition of the Baghdad Film Festival, scheduled to take place from February 10 to 14, 2024.
 
The lineup includes three feature-length films — GOODBYE JULIA, INSHALLAH A BOY, and THE BURDENED, which will be holding its Arab World premiere during the activities of the festival.
 
Also, a few members of the films’ cast and crews will be attending the screenings, including producer of GOODBYE JULIA Amjad Abu Alala, along with THE BURDENED cast members Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohammed, and Awsam Abdulrahman.
 
Coming in first in the MAD lineup is Mohamed Kordofani's multiple-award-winning debut Sudanese drama feature GOODBYE JULIA, which will be screened on February 10th at 9:30 pm at Almansour Cinema.
 
GOODBYE JULIA — which was Sudan's official submission for Best Foreign Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards and is a laureate of the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard Freedom Prize — follows the story of Mona, a northern Sudanese retired singer in a tense marriage, who is wracked by guilt after covering up a murder. In an attempt to make amends, she takes in the deceased’s Southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel, into her home.
 
Unable to confess her transgressions to Julia, Mona decides to leave the past behind and adjust to a new status quo, unaware that the country’s turmoil may find its way into her home and put her face to face with her sins.
 
GOODBYE JULIA stars Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Goma, and Ger Duany; is written and directed by Kordofani; and produced by Station Films’ acclaimed Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — the director of Sudan’s first-ever submission to the Academy Awards YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY — in collaboration with producer Mohamed Al-Omda.
 
Next up is Amjad Al-Rasheed's INSHALLAH A BOY, which follows the recently widowed Nawal, who has to save her daughter and home following her husband’s death in a society where having a son is a game changer.
 
Directed by Al-Rasheed and co-written alongside Delphine Agut and Rula Nasser, INSHALLAH A BOY — Jordan’s official submission for Best Foreign Film at the 96th Academy Awards — stars Mouna Hawa, Haitham Omari, Salwa Nakkara, Yumna Marwan, Mohammad Al-Jizawi, Islam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab'a.
 
The film is expected to be screened on February, 11th at 7:25 pm at the National Theater.
 
Last but not least is Amr Gamal's acclaimed film THE BURDENED — the first Yemeni film to play in the official selection of the Berlinale — which will be holding its Arab World premiere during the festival.
 
Based on a true story set in Aden, Yemen. The film follows Ahmed, Isra'a, and their three children after they both lose their jobs as a result of an economic crisis.
 
After the mother discovers she is carrying a fourth child, the beleaguered parents try to get an abortion despite their community's conservative stance, forcing the family to make tough decisions to survive
 
THE BURDENED is directed by Amr Gamal, who wrote the screenplay with Mazen Refaat, and stars Khaled Hamdan, Abeer Mohammed, Samah Alamrani, and Awsam Abdulrahman.
THE BURDENED will be featured at 9 pm on February, 12th at the National Theater.