LA duo come to Sudan to fulfill their dream

Tayeb Salih’s short stories have received universal acceptance. I saw a Philippine production of ‘Handful of Dates’ in Youtube. This was produced by students. The fact that they selected Tayeb Salih’s short story speaks volumes of its critical acclaim. So why should two Sudanese American young film graduates stay behind. Hashim Hassan the Director and Mamdooh Salih the Producer both residents of Los Angeles are here in Sudan, touching base with their roots. They have accepted this challenge of making a short film on Tayeb Salih’s story Hifnat Tamr –Handful of Dates. The British Council in association with Elguneid Cultural Center, along with Sudan Film Factory hosted an event Hifnat Tamr & Cultural Exchange. I met these two film aspirants at the event where they introduced us to the cast and the costumes. Now what they need is funding and I wish that a sponsor like DAL Food come forward to support this project. Hashim and Mamdooh believe that together they can take an active role in creative exchange and cultural relations to revive and motivate local Sudanese Cinema. The sponsors must believe in them.

Invigorating

Invigorating

Gundela it must be

There are few countries where you need an entry visa as well as an exit visa. Sudan is one. One can get an exit visa or an ‘exit and re-entry’ visa only after obtaining an Income Tax clearance certificate. I have been paying Income Tax at the Taxation Chamber of the Republic of Sudan since 2003. Whenever I have flown out of Khartoum International Airport, I have had and an interesting meeting with my Income Tax evaluator at the Taxation Chamber. In the early years there were hard negotiations to arrive at a notional amount of income tax. Later it became more systematic and less hard feelings while paying my tax. This time when I met the Taxman he knew I would be travelling to India and thus gifted me few pieces of local ‘Gundela’ dates. He insisted that I should buy these organic dry dates of Sudan from Omdurman market and take them for my family in Bangalore. “Gundela it must be” said the Taxman.