United for Sudan - Onwards! (قدام !) — Netherlands Premiere
Open: 17:30 - 21:00 hrs
Tickets: € 15
Sudanese Refugees Organization presents
Onwards! (قدّام!)
First Screening in the Netherlands
A Sudanese refugees organization works to support people who have been forced to flee Sudan due to conflict, violence, or persecution. The organization provides humanitarian assistance such as food, shelter, healthcare, education, and legal support, while also supporting refugees in their integration into host communities. It advocates for refugees’ rights, safety, and dignity, and works toward long-term solutions through empowerment, peacebuilding, and community development.
Organiser
Hamad Saifeldin is a Sudanese computer engineer and co-founder and Board Director of a Sudanese refugees organization in the Netherlands. He is actively involved in several initiatives focused on defending refugees’ rights and supporting displaced communities.
About the Film
Original Title: قدّام!
French Title: Jusqu’au bout !
English Title: Onwards!
Directors: Hamad Gamal & Sarah Bachellerie
Writers: Hamad Gamal & Sarah Bachellerie
Producers: Sudfa Media – Casa Doc
Country of Production: France
Running Time: 43 minutes
Release Year: 2025
Languages: Arabic, French
Subtitles: English, French, Arabic
Synopsis
Hamad and his comrades, former members of the Sudanese student movements, now live in exile in France. As the dreams of Sudan’s revolution are swept away by war, they struggle to keep alive the memory of the Sudanese people’s resistance.
Long Summary
2019. As Sudan’s revolution erupts, Hamad, a Sudanese refugee in France, mobilizes from exile to support the uprising. Through the stories of Sudanese exiles across generations, the film captures their activism, the joys of collective engagement, and the heartbreak of watching the revolution collapse under military coup and war. Despite hardships, these activists continue to gather, debate, and imagine a better future, keeping the memory of Sudan’s resistance alive from abroad.
Directors’ Statement
Hamad Gamal and Sarah Bachellerie explore the long-term roots of resistance in Sudan through the voices of six protagonists. Breaking from sensationalist media portrayals, the film documents activism in exile, showing how political engagement persists despite displacement and repression. Through intimate conversations and archival footage, Onwards! highlights the continuous struggle for freedom, democracy, and memory.
About the Directors
Hamad Gamal is a Sudanese activist in exile, co-founder and editorial board member of Sudfa Media, a French-Sudanese outlet dedicated to translating social and political mobilizations in Sudan into French, while also sharing Sudanese history, politics, and culture with a French-speaking audience. He is actively involved in various popular education projects about Sudan. He works as a social worker and is a student at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). Onwards! (Giddam!) is his first film.
Sarah Bachellerie holds a PhD in geography and is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Grenoble, specializing in migration and border studies. She is also a member of the editorial board of Sudfa Media. Onwards! (Giddam !) is likewise her first film. Directors’ StatementThrough the individual stories of six protagonists and by following their activism across France, we uncover both the past and present of Sudan’s revolutionary history, as seen through the lens of recent student movements. Breaking with the sensationalist images that have dominated media portrayals of Sudan in recent years—first the revolution, then the war—our film follows these characters over three years of struggle marked by tension and hope, highlighting the continuity of Sudanese activists’ commitment in exile. The stories of those who lived through these events from within show that revolutions do not emerge suddenly after decades of silence, but rather from the long-term roots of everyday, collective, and often discreet forms of resistance to dictatorship.
Program
17:30 – Doors Open
17:30 – 18:00 – Dinner / Iftar
18:00 – 18:45 – Film Screening
18:45 – 19:00 – Break
19:00 – 20:00 – Panel Talk: Refugees
20:00 – 20:30 – Break
20:30 – 21:30 – Panel Talk: Sudan
Join us for the first-ever screening of Onwards! in the Netherlands. Experience this powerful documentary and participate in discussions about Sudan, activism, and the role of refugees in shaping social change.
Reserve your tickets now and be part of this historic premiere.
