Sudan Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Sophia Scorziello editor Herbie Hancock and Erykah Badu are set to headline Penske Media Company’s second annual LA3C culture and creativity festival. The three-day event will take place from Nov. 10 to Nov.

Lana Del Rey, Boygenius, Carly Rae Jepsen and Maggie Rogers headline the weekend.Other acts such as Lizzy McAlpine, Tegan and Sara, Fletcher, Alex G, Peach Pit, Mt. Joy, NME cover star Hemlocke Springs and more will be performing at the fest throughout both days.

LA3C, the Los Angeles music and food festival that launched last year, will return in November for a second edition that includes headliners Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock and Oscar winner Questlove.

Aphex Twin‘s entire set from Field Day 2023 this month has been shared online – watch it below.The DJ headlined this year’s festival in Victoria Park last weekend alongside a stacked line-up that included Bonobo, Arca, Kelela, Fever Ray, Jayda G, Jon Hopkins, Sudan Archives, Mount Kimbie and more.Now, NTS Radio have this evening (August 27) shared a full stream of the entire set using a 360 camera.Check it out below.During the set, Richard James used photos of Charli XCX, the late pop producer SOPHIE, Dua Lipa, Stormzy and others with his face superimposed on them as visuals for a part of his show.Responding to the visuals, Charli tweeted: “I’ve officially made it.”Elsewhere in Aphex Twin’s world recently, the DJ and producer launched a new augmented reality app to accompany his recent EP ‘Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760’.The AR app called ‘YXBoZXh0d2lu’, which translates to ‘aphextwin’ when decrypted using Base64 binary-to-text encoding, presents an alternate world of interactive AR – bringing the artwork, music and video from the ‘Blackbox Life Recorder…’ era to life in 3D.Fans can access numerous AR landscapes soundtracked by music from Aphex Twin’s most recent EP.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 10th edition of the Venice Gap-Financing Market, organized as part of the Venice Film Festival’s industry program Venice Production Bridge, has selected 62 projects in the final stages of development and funding. Filmmakers taking projects to Venice include Jim Sheridan, an Oscar nominee with “In America,” “In the Name of the Father” and “My Left Foot”; Annemarie Jacir, whose credits include Cannes’ “Salt of This Sea,” Berlin’s “When I Saw You” and Locarno’s “Wajib”; Aisling Walsh, who directed “Maudie” with Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, and “Elizabeth Is Missing” with Glenda Jackson; and Kim Mordaunt, who won best debut at Berlin with “The Rocket.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Pan-Arab distributor MAD Solutions has acquired worldwide sales and distribution rights for Palestinian director Laila Abbas’ upcoming female empowerment drama “Thank You for Banking With Us!” and boarded the buzzed-about project as a co-producer. The multi-pronged company that is active in marketing and talent representation – and has become a leading local distributor of Arabic-language films – recently branched out into international sales with Sudan’s Cannes title “Goodbye Julia.” The Cairo-based outfit, headed by Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, is also becoming more involved in packaging Arabic projects with international market prospects.

AFROPUNK is returning to Brooklyn this summer, but at a new venue and with a new theme. The two-day festival is ditching its old stomping grounds in Commodore Barry Park for the Greenpoint Terminal Market, where they’ll introduce their new theme, “CIRCUS OF SOUL – transforming the riverside blacktop into a carnivalesque exhibition that spotlights all aspects of Black creativity, soundtracked by music that speaks to the heart of the Black experience.” This year’s festival will take place on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27, with Jazmine Sullivan and Flying Lotus taking the two headlining spots.

NMEspoke to Price, Hannibal Burress, The Aces and more on the red carpet of the American Association of Independent Music's Libera AwardsMargo Price offered up some advice to independent artists at the recent Libera Awards 2023 – urging them to “do no harm but take no shit”.Last Thursday (June 15), A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music) presented the Libera Awards at New York City’s Town Hall. This year’s event was hosted by comedian and rapper Hannibal Burress (aka Eshu Tune) with performances from Sudan Archives and more.

Thania Garcia Wet Leg took home record of the year for their self-titled debut studio album at this year’s Liberas Awards, also winning for video of the year (for “Ur Mum”), best alternative rock record, best remix (for “Too Late Now — the Soulwax Remix”) and the marketing genius award. Presented by A2IM (The American Association of Independent Music, Inc.), the ceremony took place on June 15 in New York City’s Town Hall in midtown.  Past record of the year winners include Arctic Monkeys, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, Alabama Shakes, the War on Drugs, Big Thief, Phoebe Bridgers and the 2022 winner, Japanese Breakfast. Wet Leg’s sweep follows several major nominations and wins for the duo’s debut record, which also scored them their first Brit awards and a pair of Grammys.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut “Goodbye Julia,” a timely morality tale that takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan and won the Un Certain Regard section’s Prix de Liberté (Freedom Prize) at Cannes, has scored a raft of sales following its launch. The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes official selection, “Goodbye Julia” is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.

The new chief executive of scandal-hit Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has been announced today (June 12).

Jessica Kiang With conflict currently erupting in Sudan, one could be forgiven for approaching Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia,” which takes place in Khartoum during the six years prior to the 2011 secession of South Sudan, as a worthy, topical history lesson. And it certainly does have merit as a primer for the class, ethnic and religious unrest that besets the troubled state. But what actually transpires is far more engaging, in the vein of Asghar Farhadi, wherein a tight, high-concept moral core unravels into strands of widening, deepening social consequence. Telling the story of a fraught friendship between two very different women, Kordofani’s intelligent, compassionate scripting ensures that the political never overwhelms the personal. Yet it also illuminates just how well the fault lines that divide a nation can map onto the rifts within a human heart divided against itself. 

UK director Molly Manning Walker’s first film How To Have Sex won the top prize in Cannes Un Certain Regard on Friday evening.

Uk director Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex won the top prize in Cannes Un Certain Regard on Friday evening.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent CAA Media Finance has come on board to handle sales in North America on Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia,” the first film from Sudan to launch from the Cannes Film Festival. CAA will be working in tandem with Egypt-based producer Ali El Arabi’s Ambient Light Films, which holds North American rights for the timely drama that premiered on May 21 in Un Certain Regard. “Goodbye Julia” takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. It revolves around two women, one from the north, the other from the south, that are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities.

EXCLUSIVE: Egyptian-U.S. company Ambient Light has acquired North American sales rights for Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title Goodbye Julia.

Tim Gray Senior Vice President The Intl. Emerging Film Talent Assn. returns to Cannes for the 13th year with a series of events to showcase new faces from underrepresented regions. The lineup will include screenings of films centering on refugees, a cash award for a documentary and spotlights on Arab and Sudanese cinema. For the sixth year, IEFTA is collaborating with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) at the Marche du Film. The program presents filmmakers — a number of them refugees themselves — who are documenting the experiences of those forced to flee from violence, famine or political oppression. The UN agency and IEFTA provide filmmaking tools and training to those affected. Refugees speak out about loss and desperation, but also resilience and hope.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor MAD Solutions has acquired the distribution rights to “Concrete Valley” for multiple territories. The film focuses on a Syrian family living in Toronto. The film, from Canadian-French filmmaker Antoine Bourges, premiered at Toronto Film Festival, before travelling to Berlinale, and it just screened at Jeonju. The deal covers the following territories: UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South of Sudan and Comoro Island. The writers are Bourges and Teyama Alkamli. The producer is Shehrezade Mian at Markhor Pictures.

A Scots mum and her kids can start rebuild their lives after being evacuated from war-torn Sudan after a fundraising appeal raised thousands.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Paris-based distributor ARP Sélection has snapped up the timely Sudanese drama “Goodbye Julia” for French distribution ahead of its Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere next week. The film, which is Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s feature debut, marks the first feature from Sudan to bow from the Croisette and takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan. In “Goodbye Julia,” two women — one from the North, the other from the South — are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. in an interview with Variety, Kordofani expressed the hope that his film “Can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people” in the war-ravaged country.

Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia will make history in Cannes this year as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions.

Family members of a Chorlton man will have to do a 22-hour journey from Sudan to Ethiopia to escape the recent coup. Yousif Gamal, 22, has family members visiting Sudan who are currently caught up in the conflict.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani will soon be in Cannes with “Goodbye Julia,” a drama that he says reflects the “systematic racism” that led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011 and is, albeit indirectly, closely connected with the conflict that erupted in the country in April.  The powerful film, which is premiering in Un Certain Regard, marks the first Sudanese feature to bow from the Croisette. But there is an even greater historic significance to “Goodbye Julia,” in which two women – one from the North, the other from the South – are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities. It’s the hope that “it can be the start of a movement for reconciliation between all the Sudanese people,” Kordofani says.

Katy Perry suffered an awkward blunder as proceedings for King Charles III's coronation kicked off, as she appeared lost looking for her seat in Westminster Abbey. The singer donned a bold, lilac dress with a huge matching hat and opera gloves, making her a real stand-out feature in the crowd.

Christopher Vourlias On April 14, just hours after the Cannes Film Festival unveiled the full line-up of its 76th edition, Sudanese filmmaker Mohamed Kordofani took to Facebook to express his gratitude for the well wishes pouring in. His debut feature, “Goodbye Julia,” had been selected to world premiere in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section, marking the first time a Sudanese film will bow on the Croisette. “I do not know if faith and hard work alone make dreams come true,” he wrote, describing the challenge of making movies in Sudan as an “almost impossible” task. “One needs a little luck and a lot of people’s support and faith.”

Flume has dropped a surprise album featuring unreleased music from throughout his career.‘Arrived Anxious, Left Bored’ is out today (May 4) on Transgressive Record and includes new music from the past 10 years – you can listen to it here.“Ten tracks, that never found a home, but i felt they deserved a place in the word,” the Australian producer – real name Harley Streten – shared on Instagram. “I hope they make you feel something.”The new album features collaborations with producer Emile Haynie (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey, A$AP Rocky) and Jim-E Stack (Bon Iver, HAIM, Sudan Archives), and also showcases Flume’s first time using his own vocals on ‘All There 1.9 [2019 Export Wav]’.A post shared by Flume (@flume)“This and the first ‘Things Don’t…’ drop are a bunch of songs that I always loved that didn’t fit on a previous record,” Flume said about the two-part surprise release, following 2022’s ‘Things Don’t Always Go The Way You Plan’. “It’s cathartic, it feels really nice to clean the slate and make way for what’s next.”Find the ‘Arrived Anxious, Left Bored’ tracklist below.1. ‘SKY SKY 1.3 [2016 Export Wav]’2. ‘Chalk 1.3.3 [2017 Export Wav] with Jim-E Stack’3. ‘All There 1.9 [2019 Export Wav]’4. ‘Road To Japan [2017 Export Wav]’5. ‘Jerry 1.6 [2017 Export Wav]’6. ‘n1cevib3 1.3 [2015 Export Wav]’7. ‘Arrived Anxious, Left Bored 1.4 [2020 Export Wav]’8. ‘Habibi [2019 Export Wav] with Emile Haynie’9. ‘Miss U [2020 Export Wav]’10. ‘No Other 1.2.2 [2021 Export Wav]’Last year’s ‘Things Don’t Always Go The Way You Plan’ consisted of unreleased songs recorded between 2012 and 2021.“It’s been ten years since my first record [2012’s ‘Flume’] came out,” he wrote in a statement.

Asia Abdelmajid, one of Sudan’s most famous actors, was killed by a stray bullet during crossfire on Wednesday as the violence between Sudan’s army and its paramilitary force continues in the capital city Khartoum.

Caroline Polachek played a huge Los Angeles gig this weekend (April 29), and was joined by special guests Charli XCX, Sudan Archives and Weyes Blood.Polachek is currently on tour in the US on the back of her second solo album, ‘Desire, I Want to Turn Into You’, and both Charli and Weyes Blood – aka Natalie Merring – were on hand to perform versions of songs from the LP.Charli came on stage to perform her recent remix of ‘Welcome To My Island’, which she released with her partner and The 1975 drummer George Daniel and gave a live debut to at Coachella last month.Weyes Blood was then on hand to duet with Polachek on a comparatively subdued rendition of ‘Butterfly Nest’. Sudan Archives then appeared to perform ‘Blood And Butter’ with Polachek.See footage of the collaborations below.Back in February, Charli spoke to NME on the BRIT Awards 2023 red carpet about being asked to remix ‘Welcome to My Island’.

The UK will run an additional evacuation flight from Port Sudan on Monday (May 1) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has said.

A Manchester medic trapped in war-torn Sudan has safely evacuated the African nation, according to reports.