Hidden Journey

Noura's camera captures the intimate moments of her displacement with sister Duha, as they flee war in Sudan to East Africa – a journey that reconnects them to themselves and their deceased parents.

Pitch

Synopsis

The unexpected journey begins on April 15, 2023, with the outbreak of war in Khartoum, Sudan. After losing their parents to illness over the past decade, Noura and Duha have no close relatives or a safe place to turn to when shelling reaches their neighborhood. The two sisters are forced to choose between staying under the constant threat of war or venturing into the unknown. They leave their home alongside their neighbours, carrying only one small bag filled with their most valuable belongings: family photo albums, old video tapes, and their parents’ love letters.

The journey unfolds in ways they never anticipated. Moving from one place to another, constantly chased by war, and living among different families and environments allows the sisters to rediscover life and step outside their comfort zones. Along the way, they begin forming new connections and reshaping their sense of identity. After several stops across Sudan, they eventually reach their hometown in the far east of the country, Kassala.

In Kassala, Noura and Duha live alone for the first time in the house their parents had built early in their marriage, once imagined as a family nest filled with love. The sisters spend ten months there, confronting both memory and absence, while slowly transforming the abandoned and empty house into a warm home.

Throughout the journey, fragments of the past surface. The sisters recall the life they lived before loss, drawn from a family archive spanning more than fifteen years, reaching back to their childhood.

As the war expands and daily life in Kassala becomes increasingly unstable, the sisters are forced to flee once more, this time leaving the country entirely. Seeking stability and a clearer future, they cross the Ethiopian border into East Africa. Today, they are in Kigali, Rwanda, navigating a new life while reconstructing their story through the footage and diaries collected throughout their journey.

Duha, the youngest, begins her university studies, while Noura pursues her passion for photography and filmmaking, presenting her work through multiple photography exhibitions in Rwanda and Nairobi. Along the way, both sisters experience profound and transformative moments, gradually discovering new meanings of home and belonging.

Director statement

I grew up in a loving and artistic family, in a home filled with shelves of books, movie tapes, and music. My father was an architect, and although I was very young, he involved me in designing and building our family home in Kassala. He passed away before the house was fully completed, and soon after, we left everything behind and moved to Khartoum. Years later, after my mother’s passing, my sister and I continued living there alone, never imagining that we would return to our family house during the most fragile period of our lives – the war.

This film emerges from a lived experience rather than a distant observation. When we were forced to flee Khartoum, I became deeply aware of how quickly places lose their meaning and how memory becomes the only stable ground. Carrying a camera throughout this journey was not initially a deliberate artistic choice, but a personal necessity. Filming allowed me to stay present, holding onto fragments of life as everything around us shifted.

Through this film, I explore the idea of home as something unstable and continuously reshaped by loss, displacement and time. At the heart of the story is the bond between my sister and me – a relationship strengthened by the absence of our parents, yet shaped by vulnerability, fear, and self-doubt. Our shared journey reflects how survival is not only about crossing borders, but about emotional negotiation and mutual care.

The film also reflects the experience of a young Sudanese woman navigating across the African continent, encountering unfamiliar places while carrying inherited memories and responsibilities. Working with personal archives, diaries, and observational footage, I aim to create an intimate cinematic space that mirrors the uncertainty of displacement. The film illustrates how unexpected challenges can lead to profound growth and understanding.

Director biography

Noura Adil (Sudan) is a visual storyteller, filmmaker, and photographer who harnesses the power of storytelling to explore and share profound human experiences. With a background in architecture, Noura brings a unique and diverse set of skills to the film industry. Her work has earned international recognition and has been showcased globally. She recently completed the short version of the documentary Hidden Journey.

Huidige status

The project is currently in advanced development, supported by a completed short film serving as proof of concept. A substantial body of footage has already been collected over several years and across multiple locations. This includes footage filmed during the war in Sudan, personal and family archival material spanning more than fifteen years, and recent documentary shooting following the sisters’ journey outside Sudan.

Goals

Our goal in attending CineMart is to connect with potential producers, sales agents, distributors, financiers and co-producers.