''Akasha'' (stylized as ''aKasha''; ) is a 2018 Sudanese

comedic film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...

written and directed by

Hajooj Kuka Hajooj Kuka is the founder of Refugee Club and the director of ''Beats of the Antonov''. Kuka was born in Sudan of the Mahas ethnic group, but relocated with his family to Abu Dhabi. Kuka travels frequently between Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nil ...

about a Sudanese soldier caught between his love for his girlfriend and his AK-47. Kuka previously directed several documentaries. Akasha is his first narrative film and premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

on August 31, 2018.

Plot

Adnan has earned time off from his duty as a revolutionary soldier for shooting down a MiG fighter plane, and now professes his love to the AK-47 responsible for the shot, naming the gun Nancy. His girlfriend Lina is not happy about this other love, so she kicks him out. Over the next 24 hours, his commander tries to round up all the deserters, and Adnan concocts a series of plans to retrieve Nancy, which he accidentally left in Lina's house. Along the way he's aided by another deserter, Absi, who believes in pacifism.

Cast

*Kamal Ramadan as Adnan *Ekram Marcus as Lina *Mohamed Chakado as Absi *Abdallah Alnur as Blues

Production

Kuka met two of the lead actors, Mohamed Chakado and Kamal Ramadan, while teaching drama at a local youth centre, and decided to cast them in the film. He cast Ekram Marcus to play Lina because she is so similar to the character: choosing to pursue education rather than get married.

Release

The film premiered at the

on August 31, 2018, and screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

. Two of the actors, Kamal Ramadan and Mohamed Chakado, could not attend the festivals because

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

refused to allow their departure while awaiting their refugee status papers. The film also screened at the

Africa in Motion Africa in Motion (AiM) is an annual African film festival which takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, in late October/early November. The primary aim of the festival is to offer audiences in Scotland the opportunity to view the best of African cin ...

festival in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Reception

''aKasha'' received mixed reviews. Alvise Mainardi of ''Non Solo Cinema'' wrote that even though the low budget is evident, it's hard not to like it. Martina Barone of ''Cinematographe'' felt that while the actors' performances often drag down the quality of the film, this debut shows that the director has a talent for film-making.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsiteaKasha film notes from Toronto International Film Festival
2018 films 2010s war comedy films Sudanese comedy films 2018 comedy films Films set in Sudan