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South by South: Viva Sara!
Wed 13 Nov 2024, 7-8.45pm

A still from a film showing two people wearing white garments in what looks like a storage room, with lots of shelves. One of them puts goggles up to their face.

Still from Viva Sara!

£10 / £5 MEMBERS / £5 CONCESSIONS

This selection of short films explores the late Sudanese director Gadalla Gubara and the recent history of Sudan.

This is the final screening curated by Black Cinema Project as part of their year long programme as curators of South by South.

The hour long screening programme will be followed by a guided discussion.

FULL PROGRAMME

Cinema in Sudan: Conversation with Gadalla Gubara, Frédérique Cifuentes

Frédérique Cifuentes’ first documentary film, Cinema in Sudan: Conversation with Gadalla Gubara, builds up a portrait of a great Sudanese film-maker, Gadalla Gubara (1920 – 2008). He was still working at the age of eighty-eight – one of the pioneers of cinema in Africa. The film shows a unique collection of archive footage and stills photography from one of the founding fathers of African cinema.

Cinema in Sudan 51m14

Land of the Blacks, Sarra Idris

The name Sudan means “Land of the Blacks”. In July of 2011 the country of Sudan divided into two, creating the world’s newest nation South Sudan. In the piece “Land of the Blacks” we witness the rebirth of two nations, two new identities. We watch as two new motherlands are born from water, oil and blood. The separation was the result of a long civil war that cost millions of lives. The soundtrack is a Sudanese song in which a mother dreams about her son’s future. It’s a mix of high expectations and common hopes sung in colloquial Sudanese Arabic.

Land of the Blacks 3m34 

VIVA SARA!, Gadella Gubara

The personal archive of Sudanese filmmaker Gadalla Gubara (1920-2008) contains an incomplete feature-length portrait of his daughter Sara, who became a professional swimmer despite having polio. The preserved silent elements of VIVA SARA! were shot on the beaches of Capri in the 1980s. Clearly filmed with delight, Sara Gubara plays herself in these scenes. During a screening in 2015, she provided live commentary on the footage.

VIVA SARA! 9m21

ABOUT BLACK CINEMA PROJECT

Black Cinema Project (BCP) is an evolving space bringing people together with care, to discuss Black films and the landscape they are situated within. Black Cinema Project interrogates and disrupts the current flow of watching, film exhibition and distribution.

ABOUT SOUTH BY SOUTH

South by South is a quarterly film screening at the South London Gallery. This programme focuses on presenting cinema from Africa and the diaspora to audiences in the UK. This South by South event is programmed by Black Cinema Project.

ACCESS

  • If you would like to attend this event but the ticket price is a limitation please get in touch as we have reserved a number of free tickets for low-income individuals. Contact us at: adoudu@southlondongallery.org
  • Room will be dark 
  • The film is 2 hours long.
  • Wheelchair access and accessible toilets are available at this site.
  • Please contact adoudu@southlondongallery.org with any additional access requirements or questions.