Latest news with #HindMeddeb
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Sudan, Remember Us' Trailer: Watermelon Pictures Sets August Release For Doc Paying Tribute To Youthful Pro-Democracy Activism
EXCLUSIVE: Watermelon Pictures has set an August 8 U.S. theatrical release for Hind Meddeb's timely documentary Sudan, Remember Me which has been on 10-month worldwide tour screening in scores of festivals. French-born journalist and filmmaker Meddeb, who is also of Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian heritage, spent close to a decade documenting the youth-led, pro-democracy movements that swept Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt in the 2010s. More from Deadline Watermelon Pictures Acquires U.S. Rights For Pakistani Animation 'The Glassworker' 'The Encampments' Documentary On Gaza War Protests At Columbia University Sets Milestone For New Indie Label - Specialty Box Office Watermelon Pictures Unveils Macklemore-Produced Doc 'The Encampments' Featuring Detained Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil Sudan, Remember Us captures a jubilant moment of defiance among young Sudanese activists in Khartoum after the overthrowing of dictator Omar al-Basar dictatorship, and then chronicles the military crackdown that followed. Meddab orginanally traveled to Sudan in the immediate aftermath of the revolution in 2019 to capture a sit-in protest at the army headquarters in Khartoum as the Sudanese people demanded reform after decades of military dictatorship. There she met a selection of young activists that she would continue to film over the course of four years, from the swell of hope and accomplishment following al-Bashir's fall to the oppression of the military crackdown and subsequent civil war, which today, leaves Sudan in ruins. Along the way, she explores the resilience and sources of inspiration of the pro-democracy activists as well as the way in which poetry, music and art bolster their struggle. Since the outbreak of the civil war in the spring of 2023, more than 150,000 people have died and roughly a quarter of the 46M strong population has been displaced, Meddeb's documentary offers another window in the lives and hopes of the Sudanese people. World premiering in Venice's Giornate degli Autori parallel section last August, the film has since played at TIFF, Doc NYC, CPH DOX, San Francisco Film Festival among many other festivals. Sudan, Remember Us is produced by Abel Nahmias, Michel Zana, Alice Ormières, and Taoufik Guiga. With an accent on Palestinian culture and creativity Watermelon Pictures was launched in 2024 by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali, with Alana Hadid as Creative Director. Recent releases included To A Land Unknown and The Encampments. [youtube Best of Deadline The Movies That Have Made More Than $1 Billion At The Global Box Office Everything We Know About 'Stranger Things' Season 5 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Sudan, Remember Us review: A brief moment of possibility punctuated by shocking violence
Sudan, Remember Us Director : Hind Meddeb Cert : None Genre : Documentary Starring : Hind Meddeb Running Time : 1 hr 17 mins This vital time capsule of events sometimes livestreamed or captured on phones taps the emotional and revolutionary fervour of the uprising against Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan as president for 30 years, in 2018-19. The film opens in uncertain Khartoum four years later. Gunfire on emptied streets signals the country's complex civil war, a conflict that receives scandalously little coverage in the West, despite the displacement of millions. More than 14,000 people have died, including 522,000 children lost to malnutrition. It wasn't meant to be like this. Hind Meddeb, the director of this documentary, filmed the jubilation in Khartoum as young activists took to the streets in 2019, demanding an end to dictatorship and envisioning a democratic, pluralist Sudan. The mood of protesters – many of them women – is buoyant. The Franco-Tunisian-Moroccan film-maker, who chronicled immigrant life in Paris Stalingrad, is an outsider who, as one of her subjects notes, speaks lovely Arabic. She also sees potential for the Sudanese uprising to coalesce into her late father's dream for an Arab world shaken by a feminist revolution. READ MORE 'I saw my country's future in you,' she says as she trains her camera on the crowds calling for a citizens' government. People sing, drum and paint murals. A young woman calls out the theocracy and the military in a graphic musical denouncement: 'God curse fake preachers dressed up as clerics', she raps; 'a corpse has surfaced; after two days it floats on the Nile, a first-year student, throat slit, eye gouged out.' Apart from brief glimpses of a militia stampede, the retaliation unfolds offscreen. Many of the comrades at the jubilant sit-in protest were burned alive in an action that killed more 100 peaceful demonstrators. The violence, followed by the rise of the military junta, dashed hopes for a smooth transition to civilian rule. Sudan, Remember Us gives voice to the ordinary revolutionaries it portrays. As a coda outlines, several of those depicted have fled to Egypt and elsewhere, but the art created to sustain the revolution remains. As one activist hopefully insists, 'Poetry is eternal.' In cinemas from Friday, July 11th
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Sudan, Remember Us review – vividness and vibrancy in intense account of Khartoum uprising
Franco-Tunisian-Moroccan film-maker Hind Meddeb is based in Paris but it was her on-the-spot experience in Khartoum in 2019 of the Sudanese uprising against the reactionary 30-year rule of president Omar al-Bashir which has led to this intensely engaged and sympathetic documentary study. The film immerses itself in the world of the protesters – particularly the young and female protesters – a whole generation energised and brought together by the insurgent movement; their passion was complicated and intensified by the fact that the revolution, at least at first, only brought in a 'Transitional Military Council' or TMC, which did not seem in any great hurry to transition to democratic civilian rule. In fact, it carried out a grotesque massacre against people at a sit-in in June 2019, resulting in 127 people dead and 70 cases of rape. Meddeb finds among the protesters a vivid, vibrant artistic movement: an oral culture of music, poetry and rap which flourishes on the streets. There is also a kind of subversive, surrealist energy: the camera finds a mock traffic roadworks sign reading: 'Sorry for the Delay – Uprooting a Regime'. The most amazing performances from both women and men are witnessed, as well as a kind of soixante-huitard culture of slogans and maxims; young women hold up signs and prose-poems. Above all, the protesters are suspicious of theocracy and the prevalence of a clerical class who have a great love of bullying the populace; one woman remembers a preacher who insisted on the virtues of poverty for everyone else while owning a sleek four-wheel drive. 'The people demand justice for the dead!' declaims one banner; this is a movement which is passionately aware of its fallen comrades, betrayed by those who were ushered into power by their sacrifice and courage. Sudan, Remember Us is in UK cinemas from 27 June.
Broadcast Pro
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Documentary ‘Sudan, Remember Us' screens in Moroccan cinemas
The film, which focuses on the Sudanese revolution and the role of youth and art in resistance, is being shown in various locations including Tetouan, Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech. The documentary Sudan, Remember Us, directed by French journalist-turned-filmmaker Hind Meddeb, is currently screening in cinemas across Morocco until June 29, as part of a tour in collaboration with Cinémathèque de Tanger. The film recently won the TV5Monde Plus Audience Award at the 22nd African Film Festival of Tarifa-Tangier (FCAT 2025). The film originally premiered on August 30, 2024, in the Giornate degli Autori section at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. It follows the lives of five young Sudanese revolutionaries—Shajane, Maha, Muzamil, Rufaida and Khattab—as they confront authoritarian rule through political and artistic expression. Through poems, chants, and unwavering activism, the film paints a collective portrait of a generation determined to fight for freedom in Khartoum. The narrative traces their journey from the historic 57-day sit-in at the Army headquarters to the June 3, 2019, massacre, the 2021 military coup, and the outbreak of war that ultimately pushed them into exile. The documentary not only highlights personal and political resilience but also sheds light on the broader context of military violence in regions like Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile. Produced by Abel Nahmias of Echo Films, Michel Zana and Alice Ormières of Blue Train Films, and Tao Guiga of My Way, the France-Tunisia co-production amplifies the voices of a generation seeking justice and change, bringing their struggle to a global audience.
Broadcast Pro
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
SAFAR Film Festival returns for 10th edition
The festival continues through June 28, wrapping up with the UK premiere of 'Sudan, Remember Us' (2024), directed by Hind Meddeb. The SAFAR Film Festival has returned to the UK for its 10th edition, opening with the newly restored version of Hassan Al-Imam's 1972 Egyptian classic Watch Out for Zouzou, marking its UK premiere at Ciné Lumière in London. The festival, which runs until June 28, continues its mission of bridging cinematic heritage and contemporary Arab storytelling, celebrating both nostalgia and innovation through its selection of films from South West Asia and North Africa. This year's programme reflects a strong interplay between the past and present, aiming to offer audiences a sense of continuity in Arab cinema. In addition to reviving iconic works such as Watch Out for Zouzou, the festival hosts a residency with Egyptian artist Bahia Shehab, who will collaborate with emerging creatives to produce video essays exploring the legacy and evolution of Arab stardom. The closing night will feature the UK premiere of Sudan, Remember Us (2024), directed by Hind Meddeb—a poignant documentary chronicling the lives impacted by the Sudanese conflict. The theme of generational memory and political reckoning resonates throughout the festival, as films span decades, regions, and emotional terrain. One such film, Agora, explores the mystery surrounding three people who return from the dead in a quiet Tunisian town, while Across the Sea traces Nour's life from 1990s Morocco to France, navigating the trials of love and belonging. Urgent present-day realities are depicted in A State of Passion, which follows British Palestinian surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah working in Gaza's overwhelmed emergency hospitals amid relentless bombings. Palestinian stories hold a central place in this edition, with a dedicated strand including a masterclass by celebrated actor and filmmaker Mohammad Bakri, screenings of archival footage from early 20th-century Palestine accompanied by live music, and a broad spectrum of documentaries, essays, and fiction centered on Palestinian experiences and resistance. The programme also reflects on the traumas of Syria's ongoing crisis with My Memory is Full of Ghosts and commemorates 50 years since the start of Lebanon's civil war with a special online programme curated by Lebanese cultural platform AFLAMUNA. As part of this remembrance, the festival will present a restored screening of the elusive modern classic Phantom Beirut. This year's SAFAR also turns to the land itself as a narrative space, with films and discussions tackling colonial histories (After the Sun) and celebrating environmental storytelling. A selection of short films on biodiversity, curated in partnership with the REEF Film Festival, forms part of a growing eco-conscious strand, led by SAFAR Futures alumni and new assistant curators Amina Ali and Sally Zarzour. In a deeply personal contribution, SAFAR co-founder Saeed Taji Farouky reflects on the recurring motif of ghosts that threads through the festival—from the Egyptian horror classic Fangs to displaced memories and lost homes—and will host a communal tea ritual as a gesture of collective healing and solidarity. Beyond its festival window, SAFAR continues to support Arab cinema's theatrical presence across the UK, offering audiences a chance to revisit or preview key works. This includes access to previously screened titles like Layla, set in a vibrant queer context, as well as early looks at upcoming UK releases such as the introspective Red Path and the festival's closing documentary Sudan, Remember Us. The festival also features a compelling mix of stories highlighting diverse Arab lives and voices: The Tale of Daye's Family follows a young Nubian albino aspiring to sing despite social resistance; The Village Next to Paradise portrays the resilience of Araweelo in Somalia; Thank You for Banking With Us unites two estranged Palestinian sisters pursuing their inheritance; Seeking Haven for Mr Rambo takes viewers through Cairo as Hassan searches for safety for his dog; and Saify offers a darkly comic reflection on capitalism and religion in 1990s Saudi Arabia. Marking a decade of cultural dialogue through film, this edition of SAFAR offers a bold and emotionally resonant panorama of Arab cinema, engaging with memory, identity, resistance, and imagination across generations and borders.
