Following its acclaimed world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival’s Critics’ Week and a North American screening at the Chicago International Film Festival, Sudanese filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani’s debut feature COTTON QUEEN made a remarkable MENA premiere at the Doha Film Festival, running from November 20th to the 28th, where it is competing in the International Feature Film Competition.
 
Audience demand was extraordinary, with both the premiere and the second screening selling out early in the day.
 
Before the screening, director Suzannah Mirghani took the stage to proudly introduce her cast — Mihad Murtada, Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud, Haram Basheer, Talaat Fareed, Hasan Mohieldin, Fatma Farid, Mohamedelgaili, Ali Mahdi Nouri, Mohamed Salah, and Rayab Ebrahim — setting a warm and celebratory tone for the evening.
 
The premiere also welcomed notable industry figures, including Annemarie Jacir, director of PALESTINE 36, and acclaimed filmmaker Elia Suleiman, who joined in honoring the film. The screening concluded to a long, enthusiastic applause, with Sudanese audience members reacting joyfully to the film’s music and songs, creating an unforgettable atmosphere.
 
Set in a cotton-farming village in Sudan, COTTON QUEEN follows teenage Nafisa, who is raised on heroic tales of resistance against British colonizers, told by her grandmother, the village matriarch Al-Sit. When a young businessman arrives from abroad with a development plan and genetically engineered cotton, Nafisa finds herself at the center of a power struggle over the future of her community. As she awakens to her own strength, she sets out to protect the cotton fields—and herself. Neither she nor her village will ever be the same again.
 
The film’s journey began with a world premiere in Venice, where it earned standing ovations and critical acclaim for its poetic, politically resonant storytelling. It then made its North American debut at the Chicago International Film Festival and is now making its way to the Arab World with a highly anticipated screening at the Doha Film Festival, further cementing its place on the global festival circuit.
 
Starring Mihad Murtada as Nafisa, alongside Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud, Talaat Fareed, and Haram Bisheer, the film is a co-production involving Germany’s Strange Bird GmbH, Jip Film and Verleih, and Storming Donkey Productions; France’s Maneki Films; Palestine’s Philistine Films; Egypt’s Film Clinic and MAD Solutions; Qatar; and Saudi Arabia.
 
It is written and directed by Mirghani; lensed by the prolific DOP behind this year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard opener PROMISED SKY Frida Marzouk; scored by Amine Bouhafa, the composer behind Cannes contenders AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY and ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA; and edited by Amparo Mejías, Simon Blasi, Frank Müller.
 
It’s also produced by Caroline Daube, Didar Domehri, and co-produced by Annemarie Jacir, Ossama Bawardi, Jessica Khoury, Mohamed Hefzy, Alaa Karkouti, Maher Diab, and stars Mihad Murtada, Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud, Talaat Fareed, Haram Bisheer, Mohamed Musa, and Hassan Mohi El Din.
 
Suzannah Mirghani is a Russian Sudanese filmmaker. Her short film AL-SIT (2020), screening on Netflix Middle East, won the Canal+ Award at Clermont-Ferrand in 2021, among other international prizes. Her recent shorts include VIRTUAL VOICE (2021, Tribeca Film Festival) and KAMALA IBRAHIM ISHAG: STATES OF ONENESS (2022), commissioned by Serpentine Galleries. COTTON QUEEN (2025) won the ArteKino Award at L’Atelier de la Cinéfondation at Cannes Film Festival in 2022, and is Suzannah’s debut feature film.