Africa Is a Country

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.

Further Reading

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.

From Nkrumah to neoliberalism

On the podcast, we explore: How did Ghana go from Nkrumah’s radical vision to neoliberal entrenchment? Gyekye Tanoh unpacks the forces behind its political stability, deepening inequality, and the fractures shaping its future.

The Visa farce

The South African government’s rush to clear visa applications has led to mass rejections, bureaucratic chaos, and an overloaded appeals system—leaving thousands in limbo.