Sudanese film ‘Queen of Cotton’ wins Grand Prize at Oujda Film Festival

The 15th edition of the Maghreb International Film Festival in Oujda, Morocco, concluded with the Sudanese film ‘Queen of Cotton’, directed by Suzanna Mirghani, winning the Grand Prize. The film follows a girl named Nafisa in a Sudanese village fighting to protect local cotton fields from a businessman attempting to introduce genetically modified seeds.

In the feature film competition, the Moroccan film ‘Kondava’ by Ali Benjelloun received the Special Jury Prize, while Farouk Aznabat won Best Actor. Best Actress was awarded to Ivorian actress Deborah Loubi Nani for the Tunisian film ‘Sky Without Earth’. Best Screenplay went to the Egyptian film ‘Stories’ by Abu Bakr Shawqi, and Best Director was awarded to Saudi filmmaker Shahad Amin for ‘Migration’.

In the short film category, the Jordanian film ‘Number 42’ by Hassan Khamaisa won the Grand Prize. The Palestinian film ‘Security Ban’ by Tamer Shawaamreh received the Special Jury Prize, with Palestinian actress Rahic Shouli winning Best Actress. Best Actor in the short film category went to Tunisian-French actor Walid Ben Mabrouk for ‘Prayer Time’, which also won Best Director for Romain Epstein. Best Screenplay for short films was awarded to Tariq Al-Tamimi for ‘Number 42’.