MAD Solutions acquires worldwide rights to groundbreaking Cannes festival title GOODBYE JULIA

release date April 13 2023

Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature will premiere in Un Certain Regard, marking the first time a Sudanese director and film have been part of the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival

MAD Solutions, the world’s most prolific distributor of Arabic-language content, has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Mohamed Kordofani’s hot-button debut feature GOODBYE JULIA, which will make history next month as the first Sudanese film ever to be showcased in Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival when it premieres in the Un Certain Regard section.

The global distribution deal for GOODBYE JULIA extends MAD Solutions’ new push to handle Arabic-language films on a worldwide basis. MAD Solutions’ most recent acquisition for global distribution is Ahd Kamel’s highly anticipated Saudi project MY DRIVER & I, which MAD Solutions will distribute internationally while the Middle Eastern streaming service OSN will broadcast in the Arab world.

Written and directed by Kordofani, GOODBYE JULIA takes place in Khartoum in the seething aftermath of the Civil War that ended in 2005 and led to the eventual creation of an independent South Sudan six years later.

The film stars Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak (former Ms. Sudan), Nazar Goma, and Ger Duany (THE NILE HILTON INCIDENT) in a story about two women who represent the complicated relationship and differences between Northern and Southern Sudanese communities. Their lives become entangled after a hit-and-run car accident thrusts them into a tense tale of conflicted loyalties and hidden secrets against a backdrop of national turmoil.

"I consider GOODBYE JULIA a call for reconciliation and a spotlight on the social dynamics that led to the separation of the South,” explained director Mohamed Kordofani. “I am excited and proud of all the cast and crew for this historical achievement. Being part of the first-ever official selection of a Sudanese film in Cannes is heartwarming and very promising for this new wave of cinema."

GOODBYE JULIA is produced by acclaimed Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala, director of the award-winning drama YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY, which became Sudan’s first-ever submission to the Academy Awards when it was submitted to the Oscars' Best International Feature Film category in 2020. The co-producer is Mohamed Al-Omda, his partner in the Sudanese cinema production house Station Films. Both Amjad Abu Alala and Mohamed Al-Omda were involved in yet another film that made festival history this year, Amr Gamal’s THE BURDENED, which became the first Yemeni film to be selected to the Berlin Film Festival where it played in the 2023 Panorama section.

“It’s a historical moment for us and for cinema in Sudan,” says Amjad Abu Alala about GOODBYE JULIA’s Cannes selection and worldwide distribution plans. “I’m so happy and very proud to produce this film for such a talented director as Mohamed Kordofani; his story and his artistic vision captured me from the beginning. After the success of YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY, it was my target to keep pushing Sudanese cinema to the edge of success by producing films by other directors. We are intent on building a real industry in Sudan and bringing international recognition to this land of untold stories.”

A true example of Arab-European collaboration, GOODBYE JULIA is co-produced by Egyptian producer Baho Bakhsh, Egyptian producer Safei Eldin Mahmoud, Sudanese producer Khaled Awad, German producer Michael Hendricks, French producer Marc Irmer, and Saudi producer Faisal Baltyuor, Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani, Swedish-Sudanese producer Issraa El-Kogali, Egyptian producer Ali El Arabi, and Egyptian producer Adham Sherif.

MAD Solutions’ Co-Founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab see GOODBYE JULIA as a “turning point for the Sudanese film industry” following on the heels of MAD’s support at the 2022 Cairo Film Connection of two other eagerly anticipated Sudanese projects COTTON QUEEN (directed by Suzannah Mirghani) and LAMP IN THE DARK (directed by El-Tayeb Mahdi). “After languishing through decades of authoritarian rule, Sudanese cinema is suddenly having a moment right now, propelled by a new generation of exciting filmmakers with urgent stories to tell. We believe GOODBYE JULIA will speak to the world as a whole. While the film focuses on one community in particular, its core concepts are universal - the hallmark of a great cinematic experience.”

Added Meriame Deghedi, Head of Sales and Acquisitions at MAD Solutions: “When we established MAD Distribution, we were driven to shed light on stories that most global audiences don’t have access to. From its inception, MAD Solutions set the goal of building cultural and artistic bridges that connect the Arab world with the rest of the globe at the forefront of its growth strategy. GOODBYE JULIA tells a story of a transgressor desperate to reconcile with those that have been wronged. This act of redemption is not motivated by self-righteousness or coercion, but by a moral obligation to face our wrongs and make a conscious effort to do better. In other words, it’s a deeply human story with a global dimension.”

GOODBYE JULIA won the MAD Solutions’ award at the CineGouna SpringBoard that was held at the 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in addition to Best Film Project in the Development Phase ($15,000), a certificate from the El Gouna Cinema Platform, and the New Century Prize ($10,000). In addition, GOODBYE JULIA won the Malmö Arab Film Festival’s award for Best Project In Development and received financial support from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund and Beirut’s Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC).

Kordofani is a Sudanese filmmaker whose short film NYERKUK won the Black Elephant Award for Best Sudanese Film, the NAAS Award for Best Arab Film at the Carthage Film Festival, the Jury Award at the Oran International Arab Film Festival, and the Arnone-Belavite Pellegrini Award at the FCAAA in Milan. His second short KEJERS PRISON was screened during the Sudanese revolution at the sit-in square in front of thousands of protesters, and his documentary A TOUR IN LOVE REPUBLIC was the first pro-revolution film to be broadcasted on Sudan's national TV.

His latest work was a film commissioned by Sudan’s former prime minister Abdallah Hamadok to promote Sudan's potential for investment.