Cotton Queen review
Suzannah Mirghani’s first feature contains a powerful performance by Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud as a village’s elder woman and tackles the long shadow of British imperialism and women’s rights
TL;DR
- Suzannah Mirghani becomes the first Sudanese woman to direct a feature film.
- The film addresses the legacy of British imperialism, neocolonialism, women's rights, and female genital mutilation.
- Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud delivers a powerful performance as the village elder, Al-Sit, whose past trauma is central to the narrative.
- Al-Sit arranges the marriage of her granddaughter, Nafisa, to businessman Nadir, who promotes genetically modified cotton seeds.
- Nafisa, a poetry-writing teenager, is torn between arranged marriages and her own desires, focusing on her agency in shaping her future.
- The film uses elements of mystery and magic realism, despite some tonal shifts.