In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, teenage Nafisa is raised on heroic tales of battling British colonisers told by her grandmother, the village matriarch Al-Sit. But when a young businessman arrives from abroad with a new development plan and genetically engineered cotton, Nafisa becomes the center of a power play to determine the future of the village. Awakening to her own strength, Nafisa sets out to save the cotton fields – and herself. Neither she nor her community will ever be the same again.

Suzannah Mirghani
Suzannah Mirghani is a Sudanese-Russian filmmaker, researcher, and media studies/museum studies graduate. She is the writer, director, and producer of 'Al-Sit' (2020), which won 48 awards. 
Her first feature film, 'Cotton Queen', won the ArteKino Award at L'Atelier de la Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, and premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Critics' Week.

This screening is part of the 17th Arab Film Festival in partnership with Nadi Lekol Nas.

1h35min | 2025 | Sudan