SUDANESE moviegoers are enjoying what organisers are saying is their first drive-in cinema after a festival showcasing the country’s resurgent, post-uprising film scene moved outdoors this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 100 vehicles gathered in a Khartoum parking lot across from giant screens showing Sudanese and European films on Friday, the start of a week-long festival organized by the British Council.
“We’re watching films from our cars, and that’s something that has never happened before in Sudan,” said Asmaa, among festival attendees sitting inside, next to, and on top of their cars for the nighttime screenings.
Once heavily regulated by the Islamist regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled in 2019, public spaces in Sudan are being slowly reclaimed, helped by a re-ignited art scene.
Films from Sudan’s small cinema industry have won awards at major festivals, and Sudan submitted its first film, “You Will Die
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
