Director Mohamed Kordofani Addresses Racism And Oppression In ‘Goodbye Julia’

Any form of art has inspiration from life. Be it music, poetry, literature, or anything in between. Cinema is no different. Each year sees a plethora of films taking on topics and themes that one can see in the world, outside of the theater. This year sees the debut film of director Mohamed Kordofani Goodbye Julia, the first ever Sudanese film to screen at Cannes Film Festival. 

The Hollywood Reporter had a chance to sit down with the new director and ask them some questions regarding their feature debut. The film is set in 2011, before the secession of South Sudan, and follows Mona, a woman from the wealthier northern section of the country. When two members of a southern family are killed in accidents relating to Mona, she hires the family matriarch, Julia, who is oblivious to Mona’s involvement. 

When asked about the initial idea for the screenplay, director Kordofani said that, while unable to pinpoint the exact specifics, believed it started with the separation of Southern Sudan, and the ramifications of the vote to secede.

Through this film, Kordofani wanted to highlight “a transformation of someone who first abides by social norms and traditions who transforms into being a little bit liberated and open-minded and begins to question those traditions, which play into the institutional racism we have inherited, and things like oppression that women suffer in our society.”

With the idea of oppression in mind, this gave way to the director’s idea of making the two main roles female. “Both the women in this story suffer oppression. Mona suffers social oppression and Julia systematic racism. Both try to overcome their social norms and traditions.” It was an idea that also stemmed from influential women in his life, namely his mother.  

With both racism and oppression being very prevalent issues in the film, THR asked about the viewpoint of the two leads being complicit in the racism and sexism. “I don’t know if they’re complicit in the sense that they intentionally know what they are doing is wrong. They are just accepting, embracing whatever comes from their ancestors. And when you don’t question that, it becomes what you are.” 

The full interview can be found in The Hollywood Reporter. Goodbye Julia stars Eiman Yousif as Mona and Siran Riak as Julia.