Witness

Dispatches from Sudan’s Revolution

In the midst of the 2019 Sudanese revolution, a group of friends create a make-believe TV station to capture the historic moment.

After the fall of President Omar al-Bashir, Ali and his friends camp out at the sit-in in Khartoum, joining hundreds of thousands demanding civilian rule and justice for the protesters who had been killed.

To pass the time, they repurpose a cardboard box and water bottles into a video camera. They go around the sprawling camp “interviewing” protesters.

Their act, which they dub “Suddenly TV”, allows them to meet people from all over Sudan – musicians, artists, tea ladies, and volunteer guards.

After one month, authorities break up the protest under a barrage of gunfire and Ali escapes to Cairo.