Film: Sudan, Remember Us

Last night, decided on film again - and what looked good at the top of the list was Sudan, Remember Us, a documentary about the popular uprising in Sudan following the overthrow of a dictatorship, and the subsequent violent military crackdown. It'd be great to get a view of a country I don't know much about, and am unlikely to visit.. showing, of course, in the Curzon Bloomsbury, the home of documentaries.

Took buses, as usual - oh though, it was a disaster. I don't know what on earth happened to the traffic, I've never seen it as bad.. I stood (because the seats were in the sun, and it was boiling hot) waiting for the first bus for 25 minutes, watching traffic crawl past - I was on the verge of leaving when the bus finally rounded the corner. A relief to get on and sit, and there were intermittent cool breezes through the open windows.. Then the driver started to curtail the journey more and more, announcing we were stopping earlier and earlier; obviously nearing the end of his shift, he finally dropped us at Bricklayer's Arms, effectively in the middle of nowhere, and somewhere I could have walked to faster. At least we were in the shade!

15 minutes later, I hopped on the #1 - which was packed, so I went upstairs, where I could at least get a seat. Lord it was hot though - the windows were all open, and the air conditioning was actually blowing hot air - it was roasting. Plus, the bus, while it did go far enough, was on diversion! When I finally went downstairs to get off, it was so much cooler.. and to cap it all off, the bloody pedestrian crossing wasn't working, so after a few rounds of not being let across, we all just jaywalked. I'd left in what should have been enough time to get food beforehand - as it was, a 45-minute journey took an hour and 50 minutes, and it was all I could do to get to the cinema in time.

The cinema screen was deliciously cool - the lobby wasn't though, where they kept the chocolate, as I discovered when I tried to eat it, only to find it was on the point of melting. I had to leave it for a bit, to recover itself. The wine was good, primarily just because it, at least, was cold..

Yes, the film is interesting - the protestors are young, brave, inspirational - the filmmaker appears to be Tunisian, as one of the interviewees mentions. And they're all enthusiastic about the rebellion, about the need for change - all keen to get started on the business of it. When interviewed, they're on the point of a sit-in..

As stated in the film, the militia burned dozens of people alive at the sit-in, setting fires in the middle of the night, without warning. Children, in fact. We see footage of burning tents. Curiously, the soldiers seem to have no problem with being filmed, with their faces showing - I really think they believed they were doing nothing wrong, and of course, they probably didn't fear reprisals, had no respect for the protestors. The footage of people painting faces of the dead on the market wall, tears streaming down their own faces, is heartrending.

What remains inspirational though is a quote from one, about how they will continue to protest, because to stop doing so would be a betrayal of their humanity. Such bravery, such stoicism - it really doesn't matter whether the rebellion succeeds or fails, they will go on. Interestingly, over the credits we learn that the protestors depicted in the film have since moved to find refuge in Egypt.. Certainly, Sudan always had links to Egypt. One shot of the Nile was nostalgic for me - I haven't been so far south on it, but I did cruise practically to the Sudanese border. I could relate to the Sudanese protestor, on a boat, singing about the past glories of Africa..

Well, afterwards I decided I'd better go in search of food. Sure enough, by now GBK was closed - Nando's wasn't, happily, so I ate there, opting for an additional soft drink, I was so hot: and was so grateful that they're bottomless here. By the time my food arrived, they were calling for last orders.. My garlic bread was deliciously unburnt, and everything was lovely, but really, all I was interested in was that soft drink. So I had two - with ice - and found myself unable to finish my food. Again, I blame the heat.

My journey home was a lot less problematic - but again, the bus finished at Bricklayer's Arms - has to be more than a coincidence, but I can't figure it out, I've never known that to happen before. As we waited, I reassured a young, oriental-seeming woman that no, she didn't have to pay extra to catch another bus. Anyway, it ran too late to blog last night.

Tonight, back with the much-neglected London Literary Walks - this one is called The Modernist Walk, and we're meeting in The Garden Gate, Hampstead. You can eat there, but I couldn't book for just one person, so will have to take pot luck. Mercifully, it rained this morning - stopped now, but it's really cooled the city down.. he picked a good day for a walk!

Tomorrow, film again - documentary again - Curzon Bloomsbury again! This time for The Salt of the Earth, about the photographer Sebastiao Salgado, who died in May. Co-written and co-directed by Wim Wenders, it's part of the country-wide Kino Dreams retrospective of his work.

And on Friday - which is, of course, US Independence Day - I'm heading to TunedIn London for the first time in ages, courtesy of The World Music Meetup (whom I've signed up with) and the London European Club, not to mention Curiosity - London Arts, Culture & Walks, for a concert called An American Melt, happening in St. Mary's Church, Rotherhithe.