Sudanese drama 'Cotton Queen' wins top prize at Thessaloniki

The Sudanese film 'Cotton Queen' by Suzannah Mirghani won the top prize at the Thessaloniki Film Festival on Sunday.

The drama received the Golden Alexander, the festival’s highest honor.

This was Suzannah Mirghani’s first feature film. The Sudanese director impressed the festival jury.

Cotton Queen tells the story of young Nafisa, a teenager living in a cotton-growing village in Sudan.

Nafisa works in her grandmother’s cotton fields and dreams of the young man she loves.

But the arrival of a wealthy London entrepreneur disrupts everything, as her parents, grandmother, and community plan Nafisa’s future without her knowledge.

Mirghani dedicated this award to Sudan, currently torn by a devastating civil war, as well as to her Sudanese cast and crew, who cling to survival and “search for a way out.”