[5] The opening night on 21 January 2014 was chosen to commemorate the legacy of Hussein Shariffe (1934–21 Jan 2005), a pioneer of cinema in Sudan.
[6] The opening film for the first edition was Faisal goes West, a short film, written and directed by American filmmaker Bentley Brown of long-standing relations with Sudan, and with actors from the American-Sudanese diaspora, such as Ramey Dawoud.
[1][7] According to the organisers, the festival’s debut in 2014 was attended by film critics, directors and producers from Sudan and the wider region.
Even though public film shows had almost come to an end during the military and Islamist government of Omar al-Bashir since 1989,[8] the festival attracted more than 7,000 viewers during its week of events and was covered by local and international media.
The following year, the 6th edition was dedicated to the revolutionary movement in Sudan, that had ushered in a new period in the country's history.