COTTON QUEEN
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Set in a Sudanese village shaped by cotton farming, COTTON QUEEN, the feature debut of filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani, tells the story of fifteen-year-old Nafisa as she searches for her own path between the expectations of her mother and grandmother. Revered as the village’s “Cotton Queen,” her grandmother carries memories of British colonial rule, while Nafisa’s mother places her hopes in economic modernization. When Nafisa falls in love with a young vegetable seller, she begins to challenge traditional expectations and social norms. With poetic imagery and touches of magical realism, Mirghani creates a nuanced portrait of Sudan, exploring the intersections of history, family, and female self-determination. COTTON QUEEN is the first Sudanese feature film to be both written and directed by a woman.
Cooperation: Col.lit.ive, Sudan AG Rheinland
COTTON QUEEN Direction: Suzannah Mirghani, DCP, OmeU, 94 min
Guest
Suzannah Mirghani is a writer, researcher, and media studies/museum studies graduate. She is the writer, director, and producer of AL-SIT (2020), which won 48 awards, including the Canal+ Award at the 2021 Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, and 6 Academy Award qualifying prizes e.g. at Tampere Film Festival; New Orleans Film Festival; AFI Fest; and Interfilm Berlin. Her social media satire VIRTUAL VOICE (2021) premiered at Tribeca Film Festival; and KAMALA IBRAHIM ISHAG: STATES OF ONENESS (2022) was commissioned by the Serpentine Galleries. Her first feature film, COTTON QUEEN premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2025.