Sudanese Cinema: Les Misérables

"Les Misérables (2006) is a Sudanese adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel by Gadalla Gubara, widely known as the Father of Sudanese cinema. Seeing echoes of Hugo’s world in the lives of people in Sudan, Gubara transposes the novel’s themes of poverty, corruption, justice, and sacrifice into a Sudanese setting. Shot on location in Khartoum, the film moves between melodrama and raw social realism, carried by an unforgettable performance from comedian Gamal Hassan as Jabar Abdulaziz, the film’s Jean Valjean character, and by Gubara’s granddaughter, Samhar Bela, as Mona, its Cosette.

Despite having lost his sight by the age of 80, Gubara continued to work, making Les Misérables at 87. Co-directed with his daughter, Sara Gubara, who served as his eyes on set, this final feature is tender, impassioned, and deeply human: a story of suffering and injustice, but also of family, resilience, and love."