Love & September Laws
About the Film
Love and September Laws” is a historical political/romantic drama inspired by true events in 1980s Sudan. When African-American journalist Carter arrives in Khartoum to cover growing unrest, he hires Fatin, an eloquent translator with a mysterious past — unaware she is the ex-wife of his former university flatmate, Nouri, now a respected doctor and follower of reformist thinker Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, imprisoned for opposing the regime’s use of religion as a political weapon.
As Carter investigates a politically explosive government operation hidden from the public, he is drawn closer to Fatin. Meanwhile, Nouri is suspended from the hospital for refusing to carry out a court-ordered amputation.
Personal and political tensions collide as the trio navigates duty, purpose, and forbidden love. When the regime sentences Taha and his disciples — including Nouri — to death, Carter and Fatin risk everything to save him. But their efforts come at a steep price, and justice arrives too late.
Country(s): Sudan , France , Germany , Sweden
Production company: Klozium Studios
Coproduction Company: Riverflower
Runtime: 120 min
Director Mohamed Kordofani
Mohamed Kordofani is a Sudanese aircraft engineer turned filmmaker. His work includes several short films, including NYERKUK, which received the NAAS Award for Best Arab Film at the Carthage Film Festival in 2016. His debut feature, GOODBYE JULIA, exec-produced by Academy Award winner Lupita N’yongo was the first Sudanese film to premiere at Cannes, where it won the Un Certain Regard’s Prix de la Liberté .The film went on to win 65 additional awards, including Audience Awards at Gouna and Singapore International Film Festivals and Jean Renoir prize from the French ministry of education. Kordofani is the Co-founder of Klozium Studios a production house based in Khartoum and Nairobi.
Producer Khalid Awad
Khalid Awad is a Sudanese film producer and cinematographer. In 2013, he founded Highlight Productions, which later merged with Kordofani Films to form Klozium Studios, based in Kenya and Sudan. He co-produced Goodbye Julia, directed by Mohamed Kordofani, winner of the Freedom Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and Al-Sit, directed by Suzannah Mirghani, which won the Audience Award at the 2021 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. He is currently producing About Love and the September Laws, directed by Mohamed Kordofani.
Khalid also produces the documentary film series Nas Shaghala, which highlights civic work and grassroots initiatives in Sudan. As a Director of Photography, he has received Best Cinematography awards for his work on Al-Sit and Nyerkuk.
Coproducer Issraa Elkogali Häggström
Issraa Elkogali Häggström is a Sudanese filmmaker, writer, and producer whose work blends art with activism. Born in Khartoum and now based in Stockholm, she is a Swedish citizen and a leading voice in contemporary Sudanese cinema.
She co-produced Goodbye Julia, winner of the 2023 Cannes Un Certain Regard Freedom Prize, co-writer of “The Second Message” a biopic screenplay that inspired Mohamed Kordofani’s latest feature project “About Love & September Laws. Issraa wrote and executive produced the award-winning short A Handful of Dates (2020), and her debut documentary short In Search of Hip Hop (2013) screened at festivals in 15 countries and was acquired by BBC Arabic.
Her work continues to feature in international festivals. She holds an MFA in Film from Boston University (2003) and an MA in Film & Media from Stockholm University of the Arts (2025). In 2021, she founded Riverflower, an independent production company focused on diverse narratives and social impact storytelling.