Since April 2023, Sudan has been in the grip of a brutal war that has killed more than 150,000 people, displaced millions, and pushed an entire generation of children out of classrooms and into survival. The UN now describes it as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. With reports of atrocities, including massacres, now coming out of El-Fasher, there are concerns about the fate of an estimated 250,000 people in the city, many from non-Arab communities. UN health chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also lamented that there is less global interest in the conflict in Sudan and other recent conflicts in Africa, compared to crises elsewhere in the world. “I think race is in play here,” he told the BBC in September 2024.

Sudan has become the “forgotten war,” not because it lacks urgency, but because the world has decided it can look away.

This crisis did not come out of nowhere. In 2019, after decades of dictatorship, Sudanese people took to the streets in their millions and overthrew then-president Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising that briefly sparked hope that Sudan might finally move towards civilian rule, dignity and self-determination. That hope was steadily undermined, and ultimately crushed, first by the military coup in 2021, and then by the full-scale war that erupted between the Sudanese army and RSF (Rapid Support Forces), a paramilitary group, in April 2023.

Today, as cities like El-Fasher are besieged, food is blocked, schools are shuttered, and communities in Darfur face renewed massacres, the threat is not only physical annihilation but erasure. 

It can feel helpless to watch such devastation unfold from afar, but one thing we can do is engage with the wide variety of resources available at our fingertips. As bystanders, it is imperative upon us to educate ourselves on the developing situation and use that knowledge to lend solidarity where we can – whether that’s amplifying the work of Sudanese writers, filmmakers and creatives both domestically and in the diaspora or holding states and corporations to account for their role in this genocide. 

We turn to books and films, not as escapism, but as resistance. Books, films and art become more than cultural output; they become records of memory, identity and survival. To read Sudanese writers and watch Sudanese filmmakers is to insist that Sudan is remembered on its own terms. Below, we’ve gathered films to watch and books to read by creatives in Sudan in the hope that we can hold space for a culture under siege.

Fiction Books

1. ‘River Spirit’ by Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela is hailed as “a versatile prose stylist” (New York Times) and offers rich and nuanced novels depicting Islamic spiritual and political life. River Spirit is a beautiful historical novel, narrating the years leading up to the British conquest of Sudan in 1898, and a deeply human look at the tensions between Britain and Sudan, Christianity and Islam, coloniser and colonised. 

In this novel, Aboulela gives us the unforgettable story of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary times, and who, against the odds and for a brief time, gained independence from foreign rule through their willpower, subterfuge, and sacrifice.

2. ‘At Sea’ by Yasmin Abdel-Magied (2026)

At Sea is a literary environmental thriller about a woman named Zainab who works on a high-stakes oil rig with a crew of hardened men who test her ambition as she faces toxic prejudice. This highly-anticipated novel is set to be released in 2026 and is written by the incredible Sudanese-Australian writer, engineer and award-winning social advocate, Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

A thrilling, thought-provoking and exhilarating story about the clash of ambition, principle and prejudice, and the unexpected consequences of our choices, this one is not to be missed.

3. ‘Cities Without Palms’ by Tarek Eltayeb (2009)

First published in Arabic, this novel is fraught with restlessness and disappointment, danger and unfulfilled expectations. In a desperate attempt to save his mother and two sisters from famine and disease, a young man leaves his native village in Sudan and sets out alone to seek work in the city. This is the beginning of Hamza’s long journey. Hunger and destitution lead him ever farther from his home: first from Sudan to Egypt, where the lack of work forces him to join a band of smugglers, and finally from Egypt to Europe, where he experiences first-hand the harsh world of migrant labourers and the bitter realities of life as an illegal immigrant. Tarek Eltayeb’s debut novel offers a stark portrayal of global poverty, told in a clear, graceful style that follows one Sudanese man’s tragic journey punctuated by brief moments of joy.

4. ‘Edo’s Souls’ by Stella Gaitano (2023)

Edo’s Souls is a compelling, multi-generational epic that follows three characters trapped in a nation gripped by civil war, each forced to confront their past and reckon with what matters most: love, family, or country.

Believed to be the first novel from South Sudan translated into English, Stella Gaitano’s debut is set between Sudan and South Sudan and stages an expansive struggle between motherhood and death. Known for her writing on identity and migration, Gaitano traces how war – both past and present – permeates the lives of a South Sudanese family, linking the legacy of civil conflict to the ongoing violence we see today.

5. ‘A Line in the River: Khartoum, City of Memory’ by Jamal Mahjoub (2019)

This book follows Jamal as he flees Sudan following the coup of 1989. He returns almost twenty years later in this part-memoir, part-historical story as he combines his memories and facts about Sudan to paint a complex portrait of the country he holds dear.

Exploring Khartoum’s present while delving into the country’s troubled history, his search for answers evolves into a thoughtful meditation on the meaning of identity, both personal and national.

A Line in the River combines lyrical and evocative memoir with a nuanced exploration of a country’s complex history, politics and religion. 

6. ‘Ghost Season’ by Fatin Abbas (2026)

Sudanese-American writer Fatin Abbas’ debut novel offers hope beyond the debris left by war. 

When a burnt corpse turns up in Saraaya, a remote town straddling Sudan’s divided border, five NGO workers sense that the worst is yet to come.

A beautifully dynamic novel which connects five characters caught in the crosshairs of conflict on the Sudanese border, Fatin Abbas weaves a story of Sudan’s partition into the fabric of her characters’ identities while exploring the porous and perilous nature of borders.

7. ‘A Mouth Full of Salt’ by Reem Gaafar (2025)

Set in 1989, a little boy drowns in the treacherous currents of the Nile. The search for his body unearths calamity and disaster, and exposes forgotten secrets buried for generations in a small northern Sudanese village. A Mouth Full of Salt uncovers a country on the brink of seismic change as its women decide for themselves which traditions are fit for purpose – and which prophecies it’s time to rewrite.

If you want to understand the nuances and cultural contexts of North and South Sudan while immersing yourself in a captivating story, then Reem Gaafar’s historical fiction is perfect for you. Gaafar uses suspense and mystery expertly to keep you involved and invested in finding out what really happened. Her effortless storytelling and rich descriptions make this an enjoyable read.  

8. “Minaret’ by Leila Aboulela (2006)

An earlier novel by Aboulela, this is a beautiful story exploring the spiritual journey of Najwa, a carefree teenager living in Khartoum, the daughter of a politician, who enjoys an elite and modern life. But after a sudden political coup in which her father is arrested, her family flees to London. As their fortunes take a turn for the worse, Najwa finds herself working as a maid. Slowly, Najwa turns to faith, becoming a practising Muslim, finding community and rapport among the women at a mosque, and finding new meaning and strength in her relationship with God. 

The juxtaposition of Najwa’s secular life in Sudan and religious exploration in London is conveyed in a heartfelt and thoughtful manner by Aboulela, which many people of faith might relate to. 

9. ‘Nubian Indigo’ by Jamal Mahjoub (2012)

Nubian Indigo is a work of historical fiction that draws the reader into a time and place that one might not know anything about. Set in the 1960’s, just before the completion of the Aswan High Dam, this novel is a fictionalised account of the final days of a small community living along the Nile in what was once the ancient kingdom of Nubia, before their land completely disappears beneath rising floodwaters created by the dam. Based on factual accounts of the actual events and the author’s knowledge of the area, Nubian Indigo is a poetic elegy to a lost world – a deeply moving and beautifully written novel on displacement and a displaced people’s memories of a lost place. 

Non-Fiction Books

1. ‘Sudan: Race, Religion, and Violence’ by Jok Madut Jok (2015)

Decades of war, uprisings, and broken promises led to South Sudan’s birth in 2011—a hope that quickly soured. Here, Jok Madut Jok traces the threads of Sudan’s fractured identity, weaving history, culture, and voices from the ground. He lays bare the cycles of violence, poverty, and racism, asking what it will take to finally break them.

2. ‘The Making and the Breaking of the United Sudan’ by Dr Khidir Haroun Ahmed (2018)

Dr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed, Sudanese ambassador and author, untangles the story of a country pulled apart. From colonial shadows to fractured governments and foreign interference, he traces the forces that tore Sudan in two. Spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, The Making and Breaking of the United Sudan explores colonial rule, unstable national governments, and disruptive foreign intervention, which led to Sudan’s civil war and changed the geography of Sudan. Ahmed’s chronicle also focuses on understanding Sudan politics and explains the eventual establishment of two separate national governments in the region. This book is an honest reckoning of politics, power and the human cost of ambition.

3. ‘Prison Notebook’ by Ibrahim El-Salahi (2018)

Born in 1930, Ibrahim El-Salahi is a Sudanese artist, writer, critic, cultural diplomat, TV star, and one of the most important figures of African and Arabic modernism. He carved an artistic language of his own with Western forms meeting Sudanese patterns and Arabic calligraphy. While serving as Sudan’s Undersecretary of Culture in 1975, he was imprisoned without trial and spent six months in prison. From that confinement came the Prison Notebook: a diary of delicate pen-and-ink drawings—shackled figures, barred doors, myth—tracing and more. This bilingual volume presents the notebook with English translation and the artist’s own reflections on his work, offering history, art and a reflection of survival all at once.

4. ‘Breaking Sudan: The Search for Peace’ by Jok Madut Jok (2017)

After decades of war, southern Sudan voted to leave the north, hoping for peace. Independence brought promise, oil, wealth, and a chance to build—but two years later, civil war erupted again. Sudan remained trapped by the ambitions of their leaders. In Breaking Sudan, Jok Madut Jok listens to the lives caught in the aftermath: how people survived, traded, and connected amid chaos. This is a careful, unflinching look at the violence woven into their everyday lives on a journey for peace.

5. ‘Sudan: A Concise History and Cultural Guide: Understanding the Rich Past and Resilient People of Sudan’ by S H Khalifa & M A Mansour (2025)

Sudan’s story is long and layered. Beyond politics, it’s a story of culture, resilience, and the quiet insistence of a nation carving its place in the world. Exploring the ancient civilisations, medieval history, Turko-Egyptian and Mahdist revolt, this book uncovers the unique stories of the people of Sudan and their enduring resilience. Concise, vivid, and unflinching, this is Sudan for the curious, the traveller, the reader who wants to feel history’s heartbeat. 

6. ‘Sudan: A Vision For The Future’ by Mohammed Yousif Sukkar (2025)

Sudan stands at a crossroads, caught between its past and what it might become. This book is a vision of a Sudan that holds its diversity close, weaving languages, traditions, and histories into a shared future. A Sudan where the economy, the land, and its people are renewed, and every life carries the promise of possibility.

7. ‘War Child: A Boy Soldier’s Story’ by Emmanuel Jal (2009)

In the mid-1980s, seven-year-old Emmanuel Jal lived in a Sudanese village with his family. As civil war approached, they moved repeatedly for safety. One day, he was separated from his mother, who was later killed. His father became a commander in the Christian Sudanese Liberation Army, and Jal was eventually conscripted, spending nearly a decade as a child soldier in two civil wars. From child soldier to refugee to rap star, War Child is his incredible story of survival and triumph.

8. ‘Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan’ by John Bul Dau & Martha Arual Akech (2010)

John Bul Dau and his wife, Martha, survived war, famine, and displacement in southern Sudan. Their book shares powerful stories of hardship, resilience, and African values, with touches of humour about adapting to life in America—a rare, inspiring perspective for young readers.

Poets have always emerged as activists in line with uncovering their opinions on the war through art. Poetry has always been a lifeline for many all over the world. Sudanese poetry, however, is more than art. It is survival – a witness through resistance. When bullets threaten lives, words provide a space to remember or to imagine, a world beyond violence during violence. Poetry has, in history, served as an act of defiance.

Poetry on Sudan

1. ‘Girls That Never Die’ by Safia Elhillo (2024)

Sudanese – American award-winning poet Safia Elhillo writes intimate, thought-provoking poems based on her life experiences as a child of Sudanese refugees, family histories, as well as cultural myths and news stories about honour killings and genital mutilation. She explores Muslim girlhood and shame, the dangers of being a woman and the myriad violences enacted and imagined against women’s bodies. She interlaces the everyday traumas of growing up a girl under patriarchy with magical realist imaginings.

2. ‘Modern Sudanese Poetry: An Anthology’ by Adil Babikir (2019)

Spanning more than six decades of Sudan’s post-independence history, this collection features work by some of Sudan’s most renowned modern poets, reflecting the pain of a people beautifully through many voices. The work of the renowned Sudanese poet Mohamed El-Mekki Ibrahim is featured. Translated from Arabic, the collection addresses a wide range of themes – identity, love, politics, Sufism, patriotism, war and philosophy, featuring voices as diverse as the country’s ethnic, cultural and natural composition. By bringing these voices together, Babikir provides a glimpse of Sudan’s poetry scene as well as the country’s modern history and post-independence trajectory. 

3. ‘NOUR’ by Mustafa (2025)

Canadian singer/songwriter from Aswan, Sudan, Mustafa the Poet, platforms his pain as well as Sudan’s through his work. His poetry often explores his responsibility to his country. He raises awareness on Sudan through Instagram and aid concerts.

NOUR is a poetry publication created by WePresent in collaboration with Mustafa, themed on ceremony, featuring some of the world’s most exciting poets and writers alongside photographs and calligraphy by artists and artisans, which you can download for free.

4. ‘A Friend’s Kitchen’ by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi (2023)

Born in Khartoum, Al- Raddi wrote most of these poems while exiled in London in 2012, and separated from his family for years. During late, uncertain nights, he would write brief, mystical, often stream-of-consciousness texts to post on Facebook, his primary means of communication with loved ones in Khartoum. These texts grew over time into A Friend’s Kitchen that deals with the spiritual incomprehensibility and the physical reality of living in exile. Eventually, these poems created this stunning collection, translated into English by the translator Bryar Bajalan.

5. ‘Secondhand Smoke’ by Bayadir Mohamed – Osman (2023)

This debut poetry and prose collection examines the highs and lows of being a Sudanese Muslim woman immigrating to the US and dealing with islamophobia, mental illness, racism, sexism and trauma.

6. ‘Sisters Entrance’ by Emtithal Mahmoud (2025)

Full of sorrow and resilience, this poetry collection explores being a part of the Sudanese diaspora, genocide, survival, islamophobia and racism, girlhood and being empowered as a woman. 

Visuals throughout time have provided a powerful creative framework for understanding the human impact of the war on its people. Watching the long-lasting effects of what you’ve only ever heard referred to as a ‘conflict’ conjures emotions and is globally relatable to audiences all over the world. Films allow us to tell our stories with all of our complexities in technicolour, while informing and raising awareness that may otherwise be hidden in mainstream news coverage. It is also a humanistic plea to inspire humanitarian action.

What to Watch on Sudan

1. Sudan, Remember Us (2024) 

Described as ‘upsetting and inspirational’, this documentary-style moving film focuses on the world of the protesters.

2. ‘‘After yet more atrocities in Sudan, what will end the conflict?’’ (2025)

Inside Story posted a report by Al Jazeera discussing how to end the conflict, including political negotiations and accountability for the atrocities.

3. Khartoum (2025)

This war documentary follows the lives of five civilians within the war-torn city as their stories unfold, each navigating danger, loss and pursuing freedom.

4. Madaniya (2024)

The title means ‘civil rule’ or ‘civil society,’ and fittingly so. This powerful documentary follows three Sudanese youths reflecting on how they face protests, join community efforts, state repression and more. It follows and captures the revolt in December 2018 – 2019, and the events are still referenced as the Sudanese Revolution.

5. Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)

Although not about the current war, this eye-opening documentary is about children surviving war and displacement in Sudan, depicting their struggles, resilience, and efforts to adapt and find hope. It offers important insight into understanding Sudan’s political history and the human impact of prolonged conflict.

6. Mapping the World – Sudan: The Forgotten War (2025)

Apple TV presents episode 25, Sudan: The Forgotten War, a bite-sized take on the complexities of the war and the rivalry between Al-Burhan and Hemedti.

Podcast episodes serve as an accessible medium for understanding the ongoing conflict, blending information with compelling narratives, especially where headlines can sometimes flatten the emotion, which is key to the story of Sudan. We listen to these stories at a human pace, tales of displacement, trauma, resilience and hope. Suddenly, the conflict feels singular, and the world’s emergencies are ours too.

Podcasts on Sudan

1. 2 Pals & a Pod with Yassmin Abdel-Magied 

A Comprehensive 101 on what is happening in Sudan, the hosts sat down with Yassmin Abdel-Magied to dive deep into the crisis in Sudan, and to celebrate the incredible beauty of its people. This one’s not to be missed!

2. The UAE’s Bloody War in Sudan – The Thinking Muslim [Episode 140]

This episode discusses the world’s focus on Gaza and how Sudan is simultaneously suffering a horrendous conflict, displacing millions, too. It further discusses how both crises reflect a disturbing pattern of turmoil across the Muslim world.

3. How a Middle Eastern Superpower is Fuelling the Sudan War – The Telegraph/ Battle Lines

This episode explores how the UAE is currently fuelling the Sudan war by backing the RSF and worsening the crisis. 

4. Is the World Turning a ‘Blind Eye’ to the Sudan War? – ITV News

This episode examines Sudan’s war, highlighting warnings of genocide and criticising the international community for ignoring the atrocities.

5. How Foreign States Are Fuelling Sudan’s Civil War – Conflicted

This episode involves an interview with a Sudanese journalist & political activist, Hussam Mahjoub. Mahjoub helps listeners unravel how Sudan got here, as he details history.

6. Sudan in the Spotlight – The Lede

Featuring Sudanese researchers, Raga Makawi and Hamid Murtada explain the crimes committed on the Sudanese people, their views on the Sudanese youth expressing their political views and how supporting them may be a way to find peace. 

7. The UAE’S War on Sudan – The Periphery Podcast

This episode offers voices from Sudanese civil society and activists. There is a thread on the UAE as a major player in the war, but it also discusses an article in the Jerusalem Post justifying their role in the conflict.

Influencers are just that – influential. They have played a significant role in the context of the war by shaping awareness and public perception. Through their platforms, influencers have the ability to rapidly share information, images and voices from Sudan reaching audiences that traditional outlets may not have access to.

Who to Follow

1. Sudan Solidarity Collective 

This volunteer group is based out of Canada, and is formed by Sudanese diaspora professionals, activists and community members who have been responding to the war since it broke out via a fund which provides direct financial assistance to civilian-led groups. They also spread awareness through events. 

2. Keep Eyes on Sudan

Initially created after the military forces staged a coup on the 25th of October, 2021, the page is run by a small group of Sudanese volunteers from the Sudanese Diaspora, amplifying the calls of the Sudanese people and sharing resources that are on the ground, helping the Sudanese people. Their callout, #KeepEyesOnSudan, calls on the world to bear witness to the injustice Sudanese are facing, offering different ways to help.

3. Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Sudanese-Australian writer, engineer and award-winning social advocate, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, is working tirelessly to raise awareness for Sudan through fundraising, talks, and panel discussions. If there is one person you want to follow for updates and actions, let it be her.

4. Sara Elhassan 

Sara is known as a cultural advocate and an activist influencer. With 168K followers, Elhassan uses her account to solely post about the war in Sudan, using poetry as a medium. She is a Sudanese American who has created a monthly poetry event called ‘Nas with Notepads,’ to promote literary art in Khartoum.

5. Amna Elhassan 

Born in Sudan, Amna uses art to respond to the war and the people surviving it. She paints on the theme of Sudanese women, shaped by war, turning their trauma into a mirror where they all confront violence while attempting to heal.

6. Sudan Untold 

This account shares tales and images, updating followers about the impact on civilians in Sudan after the war. They provide pivotal information, cultural and historical facts, spotlighting personal narratives and engaging in activism.

7. Hassan Kamil 

As a photographer/filmmaker based in Sudan, Kamil’s work tells a story of history and culture during the current war. He recently wrote on Instagram in reference to his birthday  ‘‘This year is not a celebration; it’s a reflection on the ability to continue. I do not ask for survival, I ask for life, for continuity, and for the light that has not gone despite everything.’’

8. Mehaira Abdelhamid 

Sudanese photographer Mehaira ran an event in London this November, with free tickets, called Banat Al Nil Panel: Sudanese Culture Through Art, featuring writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and Sudanese Artist and architect Rayan Elnayal, exploring the beauty of Sudanese cultural influences. Understanding this, Abdelhamid explains, can be used as a tool for empowerment, advocacy and a fight for justice. 

9. Sudanese Diaspora Network 

SDN is a youth-led network, dedicated to the Sudanese diaspora with an aim to unify, mobilise and empower the Sudanese youth to aid change in Sudan.

10. Nas Al Sudan 

This Sudan-focused community advocate raises awareness about the Sudan war, posting news and providing essential resources to create meaningful action.

11. Muaz Osman 

The popular Sudanese YouTuber and filmmaker makes short films, satirical videos and documentaries in Arabic about Sudan’s political health and culture. He is one of the most followed influencers, with his work being selected as socially impactful by YouTube, as he was chosen to become a Change Ambassador. 

Ultimately, staying informed on the Sudan war can sometimes feel like holding a narrative too large and heavy to hold. But poetry, film, television, books and podcasts can offer a steadiness through which vast darkness becomes momentarily graspable, even if they may be small in comparison. We are then able to witness, learn and quietly remain loyal to the valuable lives unfolding in our time. We can listen long enough to someone else’s plight until it echoes through ours, and that is the promise of engaging with art in times of war and grave injustice that is inflicted upon our fellow humans.