Suddenly TV

Khartoum: Spring 2019. Mass demonstrations have been underway for a month now, protesting against the military government. Following the welcome end to the brutal rule of Omar al-Bashir, the new regime still hasn’t handed over power to a civilian government.

Among the protesters, gathered here from all over the country, is a small group of young revolutionaries who have set up the imaginary television channel Suddenly TV. Using a cardboard box as a camera and a plastic bottle as a microphone, they report from the scene and ask people about how they view the new Sudan. Everyone joins in wholeheartedly with this playful initiative, without ever losing sight of the seriousness of the situation. Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the square, besieged by soldiers, is getting tenser by the minute.

Suddenly TV complements previous work on East Africa made by Roopa Gogineni, who is based in Atlanta and Paris. The lively reporting style from an original perspective powerfully foregrounds the new generation and its energy, solidarity and desire for a new Sudan. The film sets creativity and the power of art alongside a focus on the victims of the former regime.