Amjad Abu Alala
Amjad Abu Alala is a Sudanese film director, screenwriter, and producer who became internationally known with his debut feature You Will Die at Twenty (2019). Born in Dubai to Sudanese parents from Wad Madani and based in the United Arab Emirates, he studied media and communication science at Emirates University before making documentaries for Arab and Western television. Adapted from a short story by Hammour Ziada, You Will Die at Twenty follows a young Sudanese boy living under a Sufi mystic's prediction of his early death; it was shot during the 2019 Sudanese revolution and won the Lion of the Future award at the Venice Film Festival, going on to become Sudan's first ever Academy Award submission for Best International Feature. The film helped open a new chapter for Sudanese cinema.