13/02/2026
بيان انسحاب من المشاركة في سوق برلين السينمائي للفيلم السوداني "كرت أزرق"
Withdrawal of "Blue Card" film from the Berlinale Co-Production Market
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As the lead producer of the Sudanese–Egyptian–German–Saudi feature film Blue Card, I regret to announce our withdrawal from this year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market.
We had been genuinely pleased to take part in this edition of the Market to represent our Sudanese film BLUE CARD that supported by the German fund WCF through our amazing German Co-producer May Aodeh.
This decision follows the refusal of visa applications submitted by the film’s producer, Director, and writer at the German Embassy in Cairo. Despite official festival invitations, comprehensive documentation, and institutional support from the Goethe-Institut, our applications were rejected on the grounds of “migration risk.” Mentioned that they are not sure why we are going! and saying that they are not sure if we are planning for coming back!
The production company behind Blue Card previously participated at the Berlinale by the Yemeni feature The Burdened, which was selected in the Panorama section and went on to receive multiple international awards, with full compliance to travel regulations and no violations. As my last Schengen visa was issued by the German embassy in Khartoum for two years and ended after my last visit to Berlin, and the director visa just ended a week before submitting!
My last visit yo Berlin was to served as a jury member in the Berlinale’s Generation section and returned home without incident. Our professional histories, long-standing commitments, and full documentation were clearly demonstrated.
The implications of this refusal are deeply concerning. When professional records, prior compliance, and institutional support are not enough to overcome a presumption of “migration risk,” it raises serious questions. It suggests that artists connected to regions affected by war or displacement may be viewed through a form of labeling that reduces them to perceived migration profiles rather than recognizing their professional legitimacy. Such an approach risks reinforcing harmful stereotypes and unequal treatment toward those artists and those associated with them.
Berlinale remains one of the world’s most respected festivals, a platform that consistently supports films about displacement, exile, and the human search for belonging. It is therefore profoundly troubling when the very artists who create these stories encounter structural barriers rooted in the same anxieties their films seek to examine. When narratives of exile are celebrated on screen, yet the filmmakers behind them face restrictions shaped by migration-based, like the most ironic part that we won the award of humans rights Amnesty International for our film THE BURDENED , and the most ironic that our film itself about who a Sudanese guy refuses to be labeled after the war in his country!
This statement is not directed against the Berlinale as a festival or The great and supporting team of Berlinale Co-Production Market. On the contrary, it is issued in support of them. The Market has long championed international collaboration, and we believe that the artists it selects deserve the ability to participate fully in the platforms that endorse their work.
Our withdrawal is not an act of hostility, but one of principle and dignity! in respect for ourselves, for filmmakers whose countries are marked by war and instability, and for refugees worldwide whose lives and identities deserve recognition beyond suspicion. Cultural exchange cannot flourish where artistic legitimacy is overshadowed by fear.
Blue Card remains fully committed to its international journey, and we look forward to meeting audiences worldwide soon, and inside Berlin!
