Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous prelude to South Sudan's 2011 secession, Goodbye Julia has garnered acclaim. Photo: Station Films
Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous prelude to South Sudan's 2011 secession, Goodbye Julia has garnered acclaim. Photo: Station Films
Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous prelude to South Sudan's 2011 secession, Goodbye Julia has garnered acclaim. Photo: Station Films
Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous prelude to South Sudan's 2011 secession, Goodbye Julia has garnered acclaim. Photo: Station Films

Goodbye Julia from Sudan leads nominations for Critics Awards for Arab Films with eight


Faisal Salah
  • English
  • Arabic

Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani's feature film debut, Goodbye Julia, leads nominations for the prestigious Critics Awards for Arab Films with a total of eight.

Overseen by the Arab Cinema Centre in Cairo and adjudicated by 209 critics from 72 countries, the awards will be given to winners during a gala ceremony on May 18 on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.

Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous prelude to South Sudan's 2011 secession, Goodbye Julia has garnered acclaim for its timely exploration of morality and reconciliation. The film is also the first from Sudan to be screened as part of Cannes Film Festival's official selection.

It tells the story of the relationship between two women from contrasting backgrounds – one from the north, the other from the south. Fate brings the two together as they witness the real-life events of 2011 unravel.

Saudi film Hajjan has also earned six nominations. Photo: Ithra
Saudi film Hajjan has also earned six nominations. Photo: Ithra

Goodbye Julia's eight nominations include best feature and best director. Actresses Eiman Yousif and Nazar Goma, who play the lead characters, have also been recognised for their performances.

Other frontrunners include Jordanian Amjad Al Rasheed's dark social comedy Inshallah a Boy, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania's hybrid documentary-drama Four Daughters and Abu Bakr Shawky’s Saudi film Hajjan, all of which scored six nominations. Tunisian actress Hend Sabry nabbed two nominations in the same category, Best Actress, for Kira & El Gin and Four Daughters.

Films from Egypt, Syria and Palestine were also nominated. All nominees were films that had their premiere at an international festival outside the Arab world in 2023.

Previous winners of the coveted best film award at the annual ceremony include Tamer El Said’s The Last Days Of The City, Omar El Zohairy’s Feathers and Ahmed Yassin Aldaradji’s Hanging Gardens.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

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Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
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What are the regulations?
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  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

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(Verve)

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Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

Updated: April 25, 2024, 2:39 PM`