Ambient Light Takes North American Sales Of Cannes Film ‘Goodbye Julia’ – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: The Egyptian-American company Ambient Light has acquired the North American sales rights to the film by Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani cannes Title Un Certain Regard bye julia.

Egyptian producer and director Ali El ArabiCairo and Los Angeles-based company Ambient Light is one of several co-producers on the film along with lead producer Amjad Abu Alala, who works under the Station Films banner.

El Arabi is best known internationally for his feature documentary Za’atari Captainsabout two Syrian boys who grow up in a refugee camp in Jordan with dreams of becoming soccer stars, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021.

The film was handled internationally by Dogwoof, who sold the film to Utopia for the US.

El Arabi explains that the lessons he learned through the US distribution of Za’atari Captains encouraged him to open a sister company in the US that is now seeking distribution partners there for bye julia with the support of CAA.

“We learned a lot through that movie…I think the time has come for us to act out and sell our own stories, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” he says.

In collaboration with CAA, Ambient Light has been organizing private screenings and meetings for bye julia with theatrical distributors and major streaming platforms in the run-up to its Cannes premiere.

“We have a lot of people who are eager to work with us and now we are looking for the right partner,” he says.

bye julia it is the first Sudanese film to be presented at Cannes. It is set in the capital of Khartoum yrevolves around events ahead of the 2011 South Sudan independence referendum. Watch the trailer here.

Eiman Yousif plays a former singer from the north who tries to make amends for the murder of a man from the south unknowingly, hiring his widow as a servant and paying for his son’s education, without revealing his connection to the crime.

South Sudanese-born, Dubai-based supermodel Siran Riak makes her debut as a maid, with veteran Sudanese actor Nazar Goma and American-Sudanese actor and refugee advocate Ger Duany (the good lie, The Nile Hilton Incident) in supporting roles.

The drama has gained resonance in recent weeks due to fierce fighting between rival military factions in Khartoum, although it focused on a different time in Sudan’s history.

Other co-production partners on the film include Red Star Films, Die Gesellschaft DGS, Klozium Studios, Dolce Vita Films, Cinewaves Films, CULT and RiverFlower, in co-production with MAD Solutions, Red Sea and CANAL+ International.

Mad Solutions handles worldwide sales outside of North America.