AfricaIs aCountry

The Sudanese architect

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

The Sudanese architect

By
Boima Tucker

The film "Limbo" covers the frustated life and dreams of Sudanese immigrant and trained architect, Issam.

London (Photo: UK Telegraph).

I spotted this short film, Limbo, on the Afro-Europe Blog and thought it would be good to re-post here. The film, made in 2005, was directed by Lewie Kerr. It follows the life of fictional Issam, a Sudanese immigrant and trained architect, who is employed as a street sweeper and security guard in and around the same types buildings that he one day dreams of building. Anyone who has experienced immigrant life in the big city, or the frustrations of being an artist (or both) will be able to relate to this simple but impacting movie.

The main actor, Issam Elkhawad, passed away in 2007. The film is dedicated to him.

About the Author

Boima Tucker is a music producer, DJ, writer, and cultural activist. He is the managing editor of Africa Is a Country, co-founder of Kondi Band and the founder of the INTL BLK record label.

Further Reading

The people want to breathe

In Tunisia’s coastal city of Gabès, residents live in the shadow of the phosphate industry. As pollution deepens and repression returns, a new generation revives the struggle for life itself.

After Paul Biya

Cameroon’s president has ruled for over four decades by silence and survival. Now, with dynastic succession looming and no clear exit strategy, the country teeters between inertia and implosion.

Leapfrogging literacy?

In outsourcing the act of writing to machines trained on Western language and thought, we risk reinforcing the very hierarchies that decolonization sought to undo.