'Sudan, Remember Us' Weaves a Complex Cinematic Portrait of Art and Activism

"We have endured the worst humiliations / Oh people, let's break the silence! / Or does that make you uneasy?"

A young Sudanese woman chants these poetic lines in Arabic in the opening minutes of Hind Meddeb's documentary Sudan, Remember Us, among fellow protesters in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. The doc begins in the spring of 2019 during a massive sit-in protesting the repressive regime of President Omar al-Bashir, with protesters demanding democracy in the country. al-Bashir ruled over Sudan for 30 years, during which the country experienced genocidal violence against millions in Darfur, Blue Nile, and Kordofan, as well as limitations on free speech. 

Sudan, Remember Us, which screens at The Beacon Cinema on Aug. 17 and 18, follows the political and social turmoil in Khartoum from 2019 to 2022, a period that led to the 2023 civil war in Sudan that continues to impact the country today. The film focuses on a disparate group of Sudanese artists and activists committed to seeing their dreams of democracy come to life. 

Their stories are woven together to form a complex portrait of a fragile, violent moment for the country during which military coups and forced internet blackouts disrupt the movement for deep reform. At times, it's a harrowing watch as the fog of oppression envelopes many of the film's subjects, but art emerges as both a tool and a light leading the way.

For 57 days in 2019, protesters of all ages set up camp outside al-Bashir's army headquarters in Khartoum, peacefully calling for him to step down, reciting poetry to one another, eating, and making art. Sudan, Remember Us places viewers right in the middle of that action, capturing moments of hope and inspiration from the city's youth who yearn for democracy. 

But on June 3 that year, the protest was violently interrupted when the nation's army massacred at least 120 protesters and sent many to prison for their beliefs. Shaky phone footage, posted by military personnel to social media, provides a glimpse into those horrific moments against Sudanese protesters. 

"We put just a little bit in to make people realize the level of violence this military is capable of," said Meddeb in a recent interview. "We still don't know how many people were killed that day, especially because there were homeless people and people coming from other regions without papers."

"It's not just poetry for beauty. Here in Europe or America, we can say poetry is for the love of the world," said Meddeb. "No, [in Sudan] it's a question of life or death. It's poetry to survive and also to keep memories alive and the people who died alive."

The seeds for Sudan, Remember Us were planted back in 2016 for Meddeb — a French filmmaker of Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian descent — when she was putting together another documentary, Paris Stalingrad. That film followed the plight of Sudanese refugees who camped in the streets of Paris' Stalingrad district as they awaited the formalization of their asylum. Over the course of several years, Meddeb grew close to her subjects, and when the Sudan revolution began in 2019, many expressed frustration that they could not return to their home country to support. Moved by her new friends' pain, Meddeb then decided to head to Khartoum herself.

"My first trip, I didn't know if I was going to film or not. I was just traveling along with my camera. But [the protests] were so powerful, I started to film, and this is what you see in the beginning of the film," said Meddeb. "Then, after the June 3 massacre, it was clear that I had to make a movie and bring the voice of the people there abroad, because it was quite invisible."

The film is primarily anchored around four people — Shajane Suliman, Maha Elfaki, Ahmed Muzamil, and Khatab Ahmed — an assortment of poets, artists, and activists who are trying to carve out a life for themselves during a period of disruption and change in Khartoum. They all cycle in and out of the film, discussing different facets of their lives: Elfaki touches on her dream of a feminist revolution, while, toward the end of the film, Ahmed recites poetry for the camera ("They say we're a lost generation, eaten up with vice / hanging out in cafes / A lost generation, nothing doing / but in the moment of truth / We were on the frontline").

Meddeb says the film, which premiered at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival and has screened around the world, has received mixed reactions from Sudanese communities. She says there have been many painful screenings in which people from Sudan's Darfur region were upset about the film's sole focus on Khartoum when Darfur is undergoing genocidal violence and forced starvation. But there have also been screenings like one in Calais, France, where Sudanese refugees in attendance recognized their street or a protest they attended before being forced to flee the country. For Meddeb, it's important to shift the narrative of Sudan and what its people face. 

"The military, what they want is to spread the story that when you do revolution, you have war. It's a way to kill hope for anyone," said Meddeb. "In Western media, [the protests are] always represented as if Sudan is a poor country. People are dying of hunger, and they are waiting for the NGOs and the Western humanitarian aid."

She continued, "But it's not true. We have to say that differently. We have to say the real story, which is that Sudan is very rich, and that's why there is a war, and that's why it's been decades that this country has been confiscated and stolen from its own people. This revolution — and what you see in the film — it's people reclaiming their own country. It's as simple as that."

Sudan, Remember Us screens at The Beacon Cinema Aug. 17–18. Pick up tickets here.