Khartoum (2025 film)

Khartoum
Festival release poster
Arabic	الخرطوم
Directed by	Anas Saeed Rawia Alhag Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad Timeea Mohamed Ahmed Philip Cox
Written by	Philip Cox
Produced by	Giovanna Stopponi Talal Afifi
Edited by	Yousef Hayyan Jubeh
Music by	James Preston
Production companies	Native Voice Films Sudan Film Factory BBC Storyville Gisa Productions Ayin Network
Release date	27 January 2025 (2025-01-27) (Sundance)
Running time	80 minutes
Countries	Sudan United Kingdom Germany Qatar
Languages	Arabic English

Khartoum is a 2025 documentary film directed by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, with creative director and writer Philip Cox. The film relives survival and quest for freedom through dreams, rebellion, and civil strife of five Khartoum residents, who are compelled to flee Sudan for other countries in East Africa due to the onset of conflict.^[1]

It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2025, where it participated in the World Documentary Competition.^[2][3]

An International co-production from Sudan, United Kingdom, Germany and Qatar, it was showcased as part of the Panorama at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on 15 February 2025, after its premiere at Sundance.^[4][5][6][7]

Five citizens of Khartoum, Sudan, share their stories of civil unrest and the military coup that resulted in their escape to neighbouring countries.

Directed by four Sudanese filmmakers: Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy and Timeea M.Ahmed with the creative director and writer Phil Cox, the film was produced by Native Voice Films and Sudan Film Factory in association with BBC Storyville, Ayin Network, Gisa Productions and Light Echo Pictures. Production was funded by BBC Storyville, Doha Film Institute, Qumra, IDFA Bertha Fund, Berlinale World Cinema Fund, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Aflamuna Impact Fund and DocuBox.^[8]

Filming began in 2022 of the lives and dreams of five very different citizens in Khartoum. Soon after, the Sudan civil war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia that displaced over ten million people, including filmmakers and the film's main characters.^[9]

After its international premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, Khartoum has been programmed for international film festivals in Geneva, Bolzano, Barcelona and Toronto.^[10] It had its Swiss premiere in the section for creative documentaries at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH) on 7 March 2025. Khartoum competed for the FIFDH Geneva Grand Award^[11][12] and was awarded the FIFDH Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize.^[13]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10.^[14]

Fionnuala Halligan reviewed the film at Sundance for ScreenDaily and wrote that Khartoum deeply immerses itself in the experiences of its subjects. Halligan opined that the turmoil in Sudan is so intense that political context becomes secondary, and so the film highlights how war is ultimately about its victims. She observed that the film is a thematic continuation of the 2024 documentary film Sudan, Remember Us by Hind Meddeb. Concluding her review, she said "Sudanese politics are notoriously complex and affected by external players, from Ethiopia to the UAE, but Khartoum simplifies the process by which two generals wage a war and the population dies."^[15]

Murtada Elfadl in his review for Variety wrote that Khartoum, much like its group of novice filmmakers who lacked early exposure to cameras, is raw and unpolished. He added that its true power lies in its authenticity and creative resourcefulness. Concluding his review, Elfadl opined, "[The film] functions as both creative work and a healing mechanism for the filmmakers and their protagonists, it is immaterial if they have been to Khartoum or not, audience members are liable to feel that warm glow."^[16]

Writing for Middle East Eye, film critic Joseph Fahim called Khartoum " the standout Arab film of the Berlinale". Further he noted the film's "remarkable sensitivity and [...] distinctive lyricism", adding that "Khartoum never solely relies on its urgent politics to lift the picture up; its mature, striking artistry is inseparable from its unsentimental humanism."^[17]

The Hollywood Reporter's film critic Lovia Gyarkye noted how the main characters "vividly recount stories about life before and on the cusp of the war. They write and act in brief scenes, attempting to communicate the scale of trauma inflicted by this violence." Despite the brutality of the situation, the film "never entertains despair, help[ing] the participants not only articulate their dreams, but realize them through surrealist narratives." And further: "In this future, hope reigns supreme, routines are no longer a privilege and fighting becomes unimaginable."^[18]

The jury of the FIFDH Gilda Vieira de Mello Prize called the determination of the film crew to produce their project "remarkable", taking into account their "limited resources and scant international visibility." They concluded that "Through creative, well-crafted artistic choices and a sincere narrative, especially in the children’s viewpoint, deeply affected by the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, the film helps us better grasp the impact of war on human lives.”^[19]

• Cinema of Sudan

• Official website

• Khartoum at IMDb
• Khartoum at Rotten Tomatoes
• Khartoum at Berlinale