George Clooney and Amal Clooney, in their roles as co-founders of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, spoke about their work “waging justice” at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, England on Friday.
“It’s nice to be in a room with people that get shit done,” the Hollywood star said early on during the appearance.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice, whose mission is to provide free legal support and advocacy to victims of genocide, unlawful imprisonment, and other human rights abuses, started 2024 with a new executive leadership team.
The foundation’s work is about “holding people’s feet to the fire,” the actor said, highlighting that “it’s a lot of failing and then finally succeeding.” He emphasized that the couple and their team have “the patience” for that.
“Finding ways, levers” to have an impact can often be indirect, George Clooney pointed out. “You can’t guilt really shitty...
“It’s nice to be in a room with people that get shit done,” the Hollywood star said early on during the appearance.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice, whose mission is to provide free legal support and advocacy to victims of genocide, unlawful imprisonment, and other human rights abuses, started 2024 with a new executive leadership team.
The foundation’s work is about “holding people’s feet to the fire,” the actor said, highlighting that “it’s a lot of failing and then finally succeeding.” He emphasized that the couple and their team have “the patience” for that.
“Finding ways, levers” to have an impact can often be indirect, George Clooney pointed out. “You can’t guilt really shitty...
- 4/12/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sudan has submitted Mohamed Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
The film made history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard.
Its premiere took place just weeks after fighting broke out in Khartoum due to a clash between rival generals, which has led to the deaths of 5,000 people and uprooted seven million people.
Since Cannes, the film has also played at Karlovy Vary in its Horizons section and will make its Mena premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival in October ahead of a theatrical release in the country on October 25. It has also been selected for the BFI London Film Festival.
The selection was made by the Sudanese National Committee which is operating in exile.
Alaa Karkouti at Mad Solutions, which is handling world sales,...
The film made history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival after it was selected for Un Certain Regard.
Its premiere took place just weeks after fighting broke out in Khartoum due to a clash between rival generals, which has led to the deaths of 5,000 people and uprooted seven million people.
Since Cannes, the film has also played at Karlovy Vary in its Horizons section and will make its Mena premiere at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival in October ahead of a theatrical release in the country on October 25. It has also been selected for the BFI London Film Festival.
The selection was made by the Sudanese National Committee which is operating in exile.
Alaa Karkouti at Mad Solutions, which is handling world sales,...
- 9/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia will make history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions.
Director Mohamed Kordofani belongs to a wave of filmmakers that emerged in the wake of Sudan’s 2019 revolution, ending the 30-year rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir.
Efforts to build a civil democracy have since stalled following a military coup in October 2021 led by General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhani, although pro-democracy activists had continued to protest until recently.
The rift between al-Burhani and rival General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has dealt a fresh blow as their respective forces clash in Khartoum, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee in recent weeks
Goodbye Julia is not focused on Sudan’s recent history, but rather on events leading up to the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum, in which 99% of the Southerners polled voted in favor of the region seceding from the north.
Director Mohamed Kordofani belongs to a wave of filmmakers that emerged in the wake of Sudan’s 2019 revolution, ending the 30-year rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir.
Efforts to build a civil democracy have since stalled following a military coup in October 2021 led by General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhani, although pro-democracy activists had continued to protest until recently.
The rift between al-Burhani and rival General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has dealt a fresh blow as their respective forces clash in Khartoum, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee in recent weeks
Goodbye Julia is not focused on Sudan’s recent history, but rather on events leading up to the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum, in which 99% of the Southerners polled voted in favor of the region seceding from the north.
- 5/10/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani will soon be in Cannes with “Goodbye Julia,” a drama that he says reflects the “systematic racism” that led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and is, albeit indirectly, closely connected with the conflict that erupted in the country in April.
The powerful film, which is premiering in Un Certain Regard, marks the first Sudanese feature to bow from the Croisette. But there is an even greater historic significance to “Goodbye Julia,” in which two women – one from the North, the other from the South – are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. It’s the hope that “it can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people,” Kordofani says.
Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,” which became Sudan...
The powerful film, which is premiering in Un Certain Regard, marks the first Sudanese feature to bow from the Croisette. But there is an even greater historic significance to “Goodbye Julia,” in which two women – one from the North, the other from the South – are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. It’s the hope that “it can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people,” Kordofani says.
Produced by fellow Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala — director of “You Will Die at 20,” which became Sudan...
- 5/8/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
During the buildup to Omar al-Bashir’s ousting, an exploited manual worker at the Merowe dam develops a strange supernatural life
Lebanese artist and film-maker Ali Cherri, artist-in-residence at London’s National Gallery in 2021, makes his feature film debut with a visually striking, ruminative and mysterious piece of work, a kind of magic social realist vision. The script was developed with two French cinema heavyweights, producer and screenwriter Geoffroy Grison and director Bertrand Bonello and it premiered at Cannes in 2022 in the Directors’ Fortnight section.
It is a drama teetering on the verge of a heatstroke hallucination, with flourishes of violence. The setting is the hydroelectric Merowe dam in northern Sudan on the Nile; it’s 2019, and President Omar al-Bashir is about to be deposed by the army after months of protests. Maher (Maher El Khair) is working by the riverbank making bricks in the burning sun, for a foreman...
Lebanese artist and film-maker Ali Cherri, artist-in-residence at London’s National Gallery in 2021, makes his feature film debut with a visually striking, ruminative and mysterious piece of work, a kind of magic social realist vision. The script was developed with two French cinema heavyweights, producer and screenwriter Geoffroy Grison and director Bertrand Bonello and it premiered at Cannes in 2022 in the Directors’ Fortnight section.
It is a drama teetering on the verge of a heatstroke hallucination, with flourishes of violence. The setting is the hydroelectric Merowe dam in northern Sudan on the Nile; it’s 2019, and President Omar al-Bashir is about to be deposed by the army after months of protests. Maher (Maher El Khair) is working by the riverbank making bricks in the burning sun, for a foreman...
- 5/8/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
On April 14, just hours after the Cannes Film Festival unveiled the full line-up of its 76th edition, Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani took to Facebook to express his gratitude for the well wishes pouring in. His debut feature, “Goodbye Julia,” had been selected to world premiere in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section, marking the first time a Sudanese film will bow on the Croisette.
“I do not know if faith and hard work alone make dreams come true,” he wrote, describing the challenge of making movies in Sudan as an “almost impossible” task. “One needs a little luck and a lot of people’s support and faith.”
One day later, those dreams were dashed as violence erupted in the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The conflict between factions loyal to two rival generals, who together engineered a military coup in 2021, has pushed Sudan to the brink of civil war.
“I do not know if faith and hard work alone make dreams come true,” he wrote, describing the challenge of making movies in Sudan as an “almost impossible” task. “One needs a little luck and a lot of people’s support and faith.”
One day later, those dreams were dashed as violence erupted in the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The conflict between factions loyal to two rival generals, who together engineered a military coup in 2021, has pushed Sudan to the brink of civil war.
- 5/5/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
“Somewhere on the banks of the great nile works a man whose life is made of mud,” reads the French intertitle at the start of Ali Cherri’s film. Like that mud, this film is, in some ways, elemental but it’s also a slippery customer that shape-shifts when you least expect it. In addition to being a filmmaker, Cherri is a multimedia visual artist and it shows in this enigmatic film - the third part of a trilogy which began with short films Digger and The Disquiet - which is built on strong imagery rather than substantive narrative.
The action takes place near the Merowe dam in Sudan. In docu-real scenes we see men (who are all brick makers in real life) go about their business, digging the mud and pushing it into frames before it sets in the sun. The talk of revolution and the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir overheard.
The action takes place near the Merowe dam in Sudan. In docu-real scenes we see men (who are all brick makers in real life) go about their business, digging the mud and pushing it into frames before it sets in the sun. The talk of revolution and the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir overheard.
- 4/11/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
With its midnight screenings and strands for animation, documentary, and narrative, SXSW is an undeniable highlight of the festival circuit for short film fans. The programmers work hard to make sure the line-up adheres to the festival’s reputation and once again they haven’t let us down. Although we won’t be attending the event in person this year, we’ve still trawled the screenings for the standout shorts to keep an eye on if you’re on the ground in Austin, Texas. Promising a “glimpse into the future of film” the line-up is full of familiar names (Oscar-nominated Ice Merchants and The Flying Sailor) and lots of surprises – from zombies to pufflings and grandmas to clones, there’s a little something for everyone.
Christopher at Sea – Tom Cj Brown
One of my favourite animations currently doing the rounds on the festival circuit, Brown’s short paints a tender...
Christopher at Sea – Tom Cj Brown
One of my favourite animations currently doing the rounds on the festival circuit, Brown’s short paints a tender...
- 3/9/2023
- by Rob Munday
- Directors Notes
The notable former prosecutor in The Hague talks about the courtroom drama showing the legal takedown of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship, which is tipped for an Oscar
A lifetime spent putting mass murderers behind bars has not shaken Luis Moreno Ocampo’s conviction that if given the proper communication tools, humanity can overcome hatred.
“It’s about people, about continuing to build civilization – if not, we’re just tribes with atomic weapons,” the former international prosecutor says in a Zoom interview from his home in Malibu, California.
Moreno Ocampo not only helped jail the bloody generals of his native country’s 1976-83 military regime – a historic role portrayed in this year’s Oscar-nominated film Argentina 1985 – but afterwards he went on as chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in The Hague to charge Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur and secured a 14-year sentence for...
A lifetime spent putting mass murderers behind bars has not shaken Luis Moreno Ocampo’s conviction that if given the proper communication tools, humanity can overcome hatred.
“It’s about people, about continuing to build civilization – if not, we’re just tribes with atomic weapons,” the former international prosecutor says in a Zoom interview from his home in Malibu, California.
Moreno Ocampo not only helped jail the bloody generals of his native country’s 1976-83 military regime – a historic role portrayed in this year’s Oscar-nominated film Argentina 1985 – but afterwards he went on as chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in The Hague to charge Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur and secured a 14-year sentence for...
- 2/9/2023
- by Uki Goñi in Buenos Aires
- The Guardian - Film News
Following the Main Slate and Spotlight announcements, the 60th New York Film Festival has unveiled its Currents section. The slate of boundary-pushing work features Bertrand Bonello’s Coma, João Pedro Rodrigues’ Will-o’-the-Wisp, Helena Wittmann’s Human Flowers of Flesh, Alessandro Comodin’s The Adventures of Gigi the Law, Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós’s Dry Ground Burning, Ruth Beckermann’s Mutzenbacher, and Ashley McKenzie’s Queens of the Qing Dynasty, plus new shorts by Bi Gan, Mark Jenkin, Simón Velez, Nicolás Pereda, Courtney Stephens, Ben Russell, and more.
“Each Currents lineup is an attempt to distill the spirit of innovation and playfulness in contemporary cinema, and this is, by design, the most expansive section of the festival,” said Dennis Lim, artistic director, New York Film Festival. “There are familiar names here—including multiple filmmakers who will be known to NYFF and Flc audiences—as well as some electrifying new talents,...
“Each Currents lineup is an attempt to distill the spirit of innovation and playfulness in contemporary cinema, and this is, by design, the most expansive section of the festival,” said Dennis Lim, artistic director, New York Film Festival. “There are familiar names here—including multiple filmmakers who will be known to NYFF and Flc audiences—as well as some electrifying new talents,...
- 8/18/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The mass-market movie industry must continually justify its existence by finding new ways to entertain. The Cannes Film Festival also makes a case for the medium, however contrarian: The most important movies are the hardest ones to watch.
This year, body horror landed as a double bill in the festival’s second week. In competition was David Cronenberg’s dystopian “Crimes of the Future,” which envisioned an eerie future in which performance artists grow their own organs and futz with them onstage. Down the street at the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, an even greater provocation could be found with the innovative documentary “De Humani Corporis Fabrica.”
Directors Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel probe the intricacies of the human body with such precision that at first the film initially seems like dare. As the images of magnified blood vessels and brain tissue continue to dominate the screen, they take on a haunting abstract dimension.
This year, body horror landed as a double bill in the festival’s second week. In competition was David Cronenberg’s dystopian “Crimes of the Future,” which envisioned an eerie future in which performance artists grow their own organs and futz with them onstage. Down the street at the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, an even greater provocation could be found with the innovative documentary “De Humani Corporis Fabrica.”
Directors Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel probe the intricacies of the human body with such precision that at first the film initially seems like dare. As the images of magnified blood vessels and brain tissue continue to dominate the screen, they take on a haunting abstract dimension.
- 5/26/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Kuka, a well-known figure on the international festival circuit, was imprisoned on charges of causing a public nuisance while participating in a theatre workshop.
Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and four other artists have been released from jail in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, two weeks after they were imprisoned on charges of causing a public nuisance while participating in a theatre workshop.
South African producer Steven Markovitz, who produced Kuka’s award-winning documentary Beats Of The Antonov and debut fiction film aKasha, announced the news on Twitter on Thursday evening.
“Great news! Hajooj and the four artists have just been released.
Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and four other artists have been released from jail in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum, two weeks after they were imprisoned on charges of causing a public nuisance while participating in a theatre workshop.
South African producer Steven Markovitz, who produced Kuka’s award-winning documentary Beats Of The Antonov and debut fiction film aKasha, announced the news on Twitter on Thursday evening.
“Great news! Hajooj and the four artists have just been released.
- 10/2/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
AMPAS member Kuka’s works include aKasha and Beats Of The Antonov.
The Berlin Film Festival has joined growing calls from the international film community for the release of Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka who is currently being held alongside four other artists in a Khartoum jail.
“The Berlin International Film Festival joins the international protest against the arrest of Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and four other artists. The group of artists has been randomly charged with causing a public nuisance. We call for their immediate release by the Sudanese authorities,” the festival said in a statement.
The festival joins similar...
The Berlin Film Festival has joined growing calls from the international film community for the release of Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka who is currently being held alongside four other artists in a Khartoum jail.
“The Berlin International Film Festival joins the international protest against the arrest of Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka and four other artists. The group of artists has been randomly charged with causing a public nuisance. We call for their immediate release by the Sudanese authorities,” the festival said in a statement.
The festival joins similar...
- 9/21/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Votes were cast by 141 Arab and international critics from 57 territories.
Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven has scooped best film and director in the fourth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
The comedy originally premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, garnering a special mention, and was Palestine’s submission for the 2020 Academy Awards.
In other awards, Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabry was feted with best actress for her performance in Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s Noura’s Dream as a woman trying to escape the clutches of a violent husband.
French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila was named best actor...
Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven has scooped best film and director in the fourth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
The comedy originally premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, garnering a special mention, and was Palestine’s submission for the 2020 Academy Awards.
In other awards, Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabry was feted with best actress for her performance in Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s Noura’s Dream as a woman trying to escape the clutches of a violent husband.
French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila was named best actor...
- 6/26/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Fourth edition is based on votes of 142 Arab and international critics hailing from 57 countries.
Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven and Maryam Touzani’s Adam received four nominations each in the first round of voting in this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films.
A total of 142 Arab and international film critics from 57 countries are participating in the fourth edition of the awards, organised by the Arab Cinema Centre (Acc).
Suleiman’s comedy-drama It Must Be Heaven, which premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, has been nominated for best film, director, actor (Suleiman) and screenplay.
Moroccan filmmaker Touzani’s feature directorial debut Adam,...
Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven and Maryam Touzani’s Adam received four nominations each in the first round of voting in this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films.
A total of 142 Arab and international film critics from 57 countries are participating in the fourth edition of the awards, organised by the Arab Cinema Centre (Acc).
Suleiman’s comedy-drama It Must Be Heaven, which premiered in Cannes Competition in 2019, has been nominated for best film, director, actor (Suleiman) and screenplay.
Moroccan filmmaker Touzani’s feature directorial debut Adam,...
- 6/17/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his efforts to end his country’s two-decade war with neighboring Eritrea.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Abiy’s “efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement.”
Abiy has also won praise for helping to broker a power-sharing deal in neighboring Sudan following the arrest of that country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
Also Read: 'Wings of Desire' Writer Peter Handke and Polish Author Olga Tokarczuk Win Nobel Prize in Literature
Abiy’s win follows 2018’s Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad and 2017’s Internationals Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
On Thursday, the Swedish Academy awarded Austrian author and “Wings of Desire” screenwriter Peter Handke and Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Read original story Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Wins Nobel Peace Prize At TheWrap...
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Abiy’s “efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement.”
Abiy has also won praise for helping to broker a power-sharing deal in neighboring Sudan following the arrest of that country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
Also Read: 'Wings of Desire' Writer Peter Handke and Polish Author Olga Tokarczuk Win Nobel Prize in Literature
Abiy’s win follows 2018’s Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad and 2017’s Internationals Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
On Thursday, the Swedish Academy awarded Austrian author and “Wings of Desire” screenwriter Peter Handke and Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Read original story Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Wins Nobel Peace Prize At TheWrap...
- 10/11/2019
- by Lindsey Ellefson
- The Wrap
When a prophecy from a traveling sheik portends that a young Sudanese boy will die at the age of 20, he and his mother are faced with the difficult task of navigating the space between coming of age and confronting the end.
“You Will Die at Twenty” is the feature directorial debut of Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala. The film will make its North American debut in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto Intl. Film Festival Monday. Pyramide Intl. is handling world sales. The film won the Lion of the Future award at the just-wrapped Venice Film Festival.
Alala, who was born and raised in Dubai, based the script on a short story by the Egyptian writer Hammour Ziada. The film was also inspired by Alala’s own experiences in Sudan, where he spent five years as a child. “I think my relationship to Sudan, my memory and my childhood — it’s all there,...
“You Will Die at Twenty” is the feature directorial debut of Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala. The film will make its North American debut in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto Intl. Film Festival Monday. Pyramide Intl. is handling world sales. The film won the Lion of the Future award at the just-wrapped Venice Film Festival.
Alala, who was born and raised in Dubai, based the script on a short story by the Egyptian writer Hammour Ziada. The film was also inspired by Alala’s own experiences in Sudan, where he spent five years as a child. “I think my relationship to Sudan, my memory and my childhood — it’s all there,...
- 9/8/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
After months of protests in Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir has been ousted by the country’s military.
George Clooney and John Prendergast, Co-Founders of The Sentry, said: “The people of Sudan have been waiting for this day for a long time, but it is only a tentative first step towards real change. The general who has taken over in this palace coup, Awad Ibn Ouf, has been sanctioned by the United States for orchestrating war crimes in Darfur, just as the just-deposed Omar al-Bashir has been. Bashir is also wanted for genocide and war crimes perpetrated in Darfur, and should be extradited and tried in The Hague for those crimes. However, removing the leader of a violent, corrupt system without dismantling that system is inadequate. The next steps are crucial. The international community must provide all possible support to ensure that the transition is a negotiated and inclusive one, and...
George Clooney and John Prendergast, Co-Founders of The Sentry, said: “The people of Sudan have been waiting for this day for a long time, but it is only a tentative first step towards real change. The general who has taken over in this palace coup, Awad Ibn Ouf, has been sanctioned by the United States for orchestrating war crimes in Darfur, just as the just-deposed Omar al-Bashir has been. Bashir is also wanted for genocide and war crimes perpetrated in Darfur, and should be extradited and tried in The Hague for those crimes. However, removing the leader of a violent, corrupt system without dismantling that system is inadequate. The next steps are crucial. The international community must provide all possible support to ensure that the transition is a negotiated and inclusive one, and...
- 4/15/2019
- Look to the Stars
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