Venezia 76: Sudanese debut 'You Will Die at 20' premieres at Critics' Week

At the 76th Venice Film Festival, the collateral sections showcased powerful films from conflict-ridden countries. 'You Will Die at 20' by Amjad Abu Alala, presented at the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC), is the first film from Sudan after the 2019 deposition of dictator Omar al-Bashir. The story follows Muzamil (Mustafa Shehata), a boy in the village of El-Gezira cursed by a sorcerer to die at 20. His mother mourns prematurely, his father abandons the family, and peers bully him. An outsider introduces him to cinema, symbolizing sin and temptation, which helps him break free from superstition. The film received a standing ovation. Abu Alala stated, 'My film is an invitation to freedom. No one should ever tell you: Muzamil, this is your destiny, so it is written and you can only accept it. Run, boy!' Shooting began on the same day al-Bashir was deposed, a coincidence the director dismisses. Also screening was Yonfan's animated feature 'No. 7 Cherry Lane,' set during the 1967 Hong Kong riots, following architecture student Ziming torn between Mrs. Yu and her daughter Meiling. The film references Western culture (Proust, Jane Eyre, American films) as a path to emancipation, but suffers from inconsistent animation and pacing.