The Cannes Film Festival in its sixty-seventh edition – on Saturday – witnessed the screening of the film "Goodbye Julia", the first Sudanese film to be shown at the festival, which was followed by loud applause and crying by the audience.

I'm a very proud member of the extremely talented team and group of passionate people.
Good bye Julia was premiered today in Cannes and for the following 3 days until Monday.
The film is in competition for the Caméra d'Or. pic.twitter.com/wbXnihJTVm

— S. (@sagdaaaaa) May 20, 2023

Set in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, the feature film highlights Sudan's cultural aspects, as well as the differences between northern and southern communities prior to the latter's secession in 2011.

Activists and a number of festival attendees broadcast photos and videos documenting the audience's dramatic reactions to the screening of the first Sudanese film at the international festival.

Bye bye Cannes c'était si court et... très humide ! @Festival_Cannes . Un très gros coup de coeur avant le départ pour Goodbye Julia dans la sélection #UnCertainRegard pic.twitter.com/63kHJD3mez

— Mathieu 🌟 (@MathieuTouze) May 20, 2023

Video footage showed the audience continuing to clap for more than 7 minutes after the film was released, while others burst into tears, with Arab and foreign praise for it.

* GOODBYE JULIA, Kordofani. The first Sudanese feature to ever show at Cannes, this feels similar to what the THE INSULT did for Lebanon: take a personal drama / procedural and use it as a metonym for issues the country faces as a whole...

— Stephen Miller (@sdavidmiller) May 20, 2023

Widespread critical praise for Arab films (Goodbye Julia, hopefully Boy, Gangsters), which are the first experiences of their directors, namely (Mohammed Kordovani, Amjad Al-Rasheed, Kamal Lazraq) respectively. We are lucky to follow the growth of Arab cinema and its reaching this level among its peers from international cinemas, by God.

— Abdulrahman #14 (@III_Abdulrahman) May 20, 2023

Journalist Alaa Hassanein said in a tweet via Twitter, "After the end of the screening of the wonderful Sudanese film, the audience continued to clap for more than 7 minutes, most of the people were crying. The film is very, very great."

After the screening of the wonderful Sudanese film "Goodbye Julia" directed by Mohamed Kordofani, the audience continued to applaud for more than seven minutes, most of the people were crying. A very, very great movie. pic.twitter.com/pfBuvIOWsc

— Lee (@Alaa__Hasanin) May 20, 2023

The film's director, Mohamed Kordofani, delivered a speech on the festival stage, which witnessed the presence of participants and the cast of the drama, in a scene that won the admiration and pride of the Sudanese through digital platforms.

The screening of the film coincides with the events that are still taking place in Sudan, from an armed conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April.

"Some are demolished with weapons and some are built with art, while the sounds of bullets and Danat are raised in the sky of Khartoum day and night, the sounds of whistling and clapping are also raised in celebration and pride in the sky of Cannes in France," Ahmed wrote.

Some are destroyed by weapons and some are built by art.
While the sounds of bullets and gunfire are rising in the sky of Khartoum day and night, the sounds of whistling and clapping will also rise in celebration and pride in the sky of Cannes, France at the premiere of the film "Goodbye Julia" pic.twitter.com/NcOBl81bbm

— Mohammed Ahmed (@Mohamma38514441) May 20, 2023

The management of El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt announced the selection of the film to participate in the sixth edition of the festival scheduled for next October in the city of El Gouna in the Red Sea Governorate (eastern Egypt), which is the premiere of the film in the Middle East and North Africa.

"This moving story, which revolves around the story of a retired singer from North Sudan hosting the widow of a deceased South Sudanese man, has received great interest from industry leaders," El Gouna Festival's official Facebook page wrote.

The organizer of the work had published the promotional advertisement for the film a few days before its release, and it received great circulation in the film circles, and won the admiration of the Sudanese, amid expectations that it will be crowned with several international and cinematic awards.

The film is written and directed by Sudanese Mohamed Kordofani, and produced by Amjad Abu Alala, and starred actress Iman Youssef and Miss Sudan Siran Riak, and it also includes actors Nizar Juma and Qir Doini, and is filmed by Pierre de Villiers.