Making the remnants of Sudan's cinematography matter

In an effort to honour her father’s memory and legacy, Sara Jadalla is preserving the remains of Sudan’s cinema.

Her father Jubara Jadallah, was a renowned director in Khartoum who died at the age of 88 in 2008. After his death, Sara embarked on a project to digitalise some of her father’s films which mostly documented Sudan’s historical moments.

In the 50 years of his career, Jadallah Jubara produced over a hundred documentaries and four feature films, including a piece on Sudan’s independence day.

Sara is working on more than 100 hours of production.

“With this camera, he documented the history of Sudan and showed its value. So I want to preserve it. His work is a heritage, a heritage for future generations of Sudan,” she said

The initiative came with a huge price tag. The first 40 hours of production already stored in digital format have cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The project receives funding and expertise from German directors who are scanning the entire film collection.

Katharina von Schroeder, a German director said working on the initiative has been a joy ride.

“I did not know much about Jadallah Jubara, but I knew he was a director and cameraman for more than 50 years in Sudan and as such, it was very exciting,” said Von Shroeder.

From over 60 cinemas in Sudan before 1989, the are only three left in the capital.