A special lunchtime seminar, as part of Dan Hodgkinson’s Radical Visions agenda
While the world’s focus has been fixed on Gaza, a brutal civil war in Sudan has displaced over 12 million people, placed over 24 million people in acute hunger and famine, and caused the direct casualties of an estimated 150,000 people. This seminar explores what the war’s chaos and displacement has meant to Sudanese communities, their sense of cultural and social belonging, and their notions of home – as well as how artists and academics can respond to these events. These issues will be discussed with the Sudanese and British filmmakers who made the award-winning feature documentary “Khartoum” (2025) and with Professor Marlyn Deegan, whose Digital Humanities work leading the “Sudan Memory” project has sought to both safeguard and protect vital cultural heritage and make it digitally accessible for younger generations of Sudanese to engage with wherever they are.
Presenters:
Rawia Alhag is a Sudanese filmmaker & journalist currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on women’s and children’s issues, shedding light on the experiences and struggles of Sudanese people both within their communities and in the diaspora. She currently works as a journalist with international media outlets as well as directing award winning short films. She is one of the five directors of KHARTOUM.
Khadmallah Ali is a Sudanese social activist and business woman. Originally from the Nuba Mountains, she lives today in Nairobi Kenya. She is a graduate in Economics and Sciences and works in Nairobi running her own independent business. She has travelled widely in East Africa as a speaker advocating for Sudanese women’s rights. She is a lead participant in the film KHARTOUM.
Phil Cox is a British filmmaker and journalist who has worked extensively in Sudan since 2004. He co-runs the independent company Native Voice Films with Giovanna Stopponi which produced the multi award winning Sudan based films THE SPIDER-MAN OF SUDAN THE SALON and also KHARTOUM - which was awarded the Berlinale Peace Prize in 2025. He is one of the five directors of KHARTOUM.
Professor Marlyn Deegan (KCL) is one of the UK’s leading experts in the Digital Humanities, who leads the “Sudan Memory” project which seeks to conserve and promote valuable cultural materials from and about Sudan through digitisation and via an online platform. The Sudan Memory project mission is to help preserve these archives and their stories, so that current and future generations can benefit from this precious and important heritage. Prof Deegan is also a former member of the Refugee Studies Centre.
While the world’s focus has been fixed on Gaza, a brutal civil war in Sudan has displaced over 12 million people, placed over 24 million people in acute hunger and famine, and caused the direct casualties of an estimated 150,000 people. This seminar explores what the war’s chaos and displacement has meant to Sudanese communities, their sense of cultural and social belonging, and their notions of home – as well as how artists and academics can respond to these events. These issues will be discussed with the Sudanese and British filmmakers who made the award-winning feature documentary “Khartoum” (2025) and with Professor Marlyn Deegan, whose Digital Humanities work leading the “Sudan Memory” project has sought to both safeguard and protect vital cultural heritage and make it digitally accessible for younger generations of Sudanese to engage with wherever they are.
Presenters:
Rawia Alhag is a Sudanese filmmaker & journalist currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on women’s and children’s issues, shedding light on the experiences and struggles of Sudanese people both within their communities and in the diaspora. She currently works as a journalist with international media outlets as well as directing award winning short films. She is one of the five directors of KHARTOUM.
Khadmallah Ali is a Sudanese social activist and business woman. Originally from the Nuba Mountains, she lives today in Nairobi Kenya. She is a graduate in Economics and Sciences and works in Nairobi running her own independent business. She has travelled widely in East Africa as a speaker advocating for Sudanese women’s rights. She is a lead participant in the film KHARTOUM.
Phil Cox is a British filmmaker and journalist who has worked extensively in Sudan since 2004. He co-runs the independent company Native Voice Films with Giovanna Stopponi which produced the multi award winning Sudan based films THE SPIDER-MAN OF SUDAN THE SALON and also KHARTOUM - which was awarded the Berlinale Peace Prize in 2025. He is one of the five directors of KHARTOUM.
Professor Marlyn Deegan (KCL) is one of the UK’s leading experts in the Digital Humanities, who leads the “Sudan Memory” project which seeks to conserve and promote valuable cultural materials from and about Sudan through digitisation and via an online platform. The Sudan Memory project mission is to help preserve these archives and their stories, so that current and future generations can benefit from this precious and important heritage. Prof Deegan is also a former member of the Refugee Studies Centre.