The New Hope of Sudanese Cinema: Why “You will die at 20” Should Be On Your Watch List

Mutassim Rashid as a young Muzammil in ‘You Will Die at 20’.

Cinema in Sudan struggled for more than 30 years, as a dictatorship restricted arts and silenced people's creative voices. Omar al-Bashir's government stopped all artistic and cultural initiatives, and a combination of US sanctions and lack of funding has meant that filmmakers could not import essential equipment to the country. However al-Bashir’s fall in 2019,following months of protests, has given filmmakers a new hope. Many are eager to use their creativity to create a new cultural scene that is outspoken and open to different ideas and opinions. 

Since 2010, several movies have been part of the revival of Sudanese cinema. Of these, the flagship movie “You will die at 20” by Amjad Abul Ala - released in 2019 – was the first Sudanese film to win the ‘Lion of the Future Award’ at the prestigious Venice Film Festival. This achievement has put Sudan back on the map and connected the country to the world after decades of isolation. The movie also became Sudan’s first-ever official Academy Awards “Oscar” entry at the Best International Feature Film category.

The fable-like story of the movie is based on a short fiction story “Sleeping at the Foot of the Mountain” by Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada. In a remote village in the East-Central region of Sudan, where superstition constrains its community, a holy man “Sheikh” and his dervish predict that a young boy Muzammil  “the main character” will die at the age of 20, shortly after he was born.

* Skip to the film cinematography section if you don’t want spoilers*

Muzammil's father, Alnoor (Talal Afifi), could not withstand such a curse and abandoned his family. As a result, Sakeena (Islam Mubarak), being overprotective, raises her son on her own. During his childhood, young Muzammil (Mutassim Rashid) grew up like other children, although he sometimes felt conflicted about his fate. As a teenager, he (Mustafa Shahata) turns to religion to search for comfort from his unfortunate future. Interestingly, he gets to know a misfit in the village (Suleiman), who has returned to his family home after being abroad for so long.

Suleiman (Mahmoud El-Sarraj) allows Muzammil to watch old movies in his house and introduces him to a new world. At age 19, with Muzammil’s time coming to an end, he realizes that he cannot plan for a future he will never have. He realizes that he will not be able to marry the girl he always loved (Bunna Khalid).

A still from the film ‘You Will Die at 20’

Abul Ala and Yousef Ibrahim’s screenplay paints Muzammil’s conflict beautifully. It shows the struggle he went through, between living under his mother's protective wings and wanting to live normally, like the kids in his village. The movie non-judgmentally depicts a community circumscribed by superstition.

The film cinematography is the most noticeable, and creative element of “You Will Die at 20”. From its first opening frame, the movie beautifully depicts the village as a magical place and integrates the colours of the sky, sand, trees, and the Nile river. The work on the colour tones, light sensitivity and exposure, and composition of frames is considered top-tier quality by photographers and critics. This story, which symbolizes how a young man was raised to believe in a certain box and cannot think out of it, has been presented with simplicity yet with high picture quality.

The talented cast displayed rays of emotions that reflect on the nature of the village, which can be both festively providing life and extremely harsh simultaneously. Sakeena's ability to portray the pain of knowing that her only son will die so early was captivating, giving an otherworldly performance as a mother with no hope, mourning her still living son.

Young Muzammil (Mutassim Rashid) was the most gifted amongst the entire cast. He was able to grab our attention by his facial expressions and take us on an emotional journey, through his struggle to deal with his isolation, being bullied by the kids in the village and his fate. We could feel his pain as he dealt with being the “son of death”.

As a teenager, Muzammil wanted to learn and search for the meaning of his destiny. The actor remarkably displayed the complexity of living between two different worlds: the one he was raised in and the one Sulieman introduced him to.

Sulieman gave a brilliant performance as the cynical man who returns to a place he knows he does not belong to. His relationship with the wise prostitute Set Al-Nissa (Amal Mustafa), who gave one of the best performances in the movie, was amazingly told. Finally, Naeema (Bunna Khalid) gave a radiant performance of a young rebel woman who is inexplicably in love with Muzammil.

The flow of the story was nice although it felt a bit slow-paced at times and more fast-paced when it reached the peak. There were few parts where I wished the director expanded on the story. 

*Spoiler Alert* The implication of Muzammil’s sexual abuse by the Sheikh is one such example. There wasn't any follow up to the story, or how Muzamiil may have reacted to it. This could have had a huge impact, as it is an issue that is still happening today. The open ending was the most amazing part of the script that held a lot of symbols.

For me, Sakeena’s performance was the centre of attention although; at some points, it felt static and constrained. Adult Muzammil was a bit monotonous to me since he could have been more in contact with his roots of conflict and could have shown us more rays of emotions.

Despite all that “You Will Die at 20” is an impressive work and a remarkable feature debut by Abul Ala with a top-notch visual presentation. No one can deny the talent and hard work of the cats, directors and the film crew. The artistic visual display of religious rituals, the Nile and the life in the village was dreamy and breath-taking. 

The movie is a leap for Sudanese cinema, and if anyone is interested in the Sudanese culture, this should be on your “To watch list”. 

You can watch “You will die at 20” at Shubbak festival tomorrow and online on Netflix Middle East.