Akasha (2018 film)

Akasha (stylized as aKasha; ) is a 2018 Sudanese comedic film written and directed by Hajooj Kuka about a Sudanese soldier caught between his love for his girlfriend and his AK-47. Kuka previously directed several documentaries. Akasha is his first narrative film and premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2018.

Plot
Adnan has earned time off from his duty as a revolutionary soldier for shooting down a MiG fighter plane, and now professes his love to the AK-47 responsible for the shot, naming the gun Nancy. His girlfriend Lina is not happy about this other love, so she kicks him out. Over the next 24 hours, his commander tries to round up all the deserters, and Adnan concocts a series of plans to retrieve Nancy, which he accidentally left in Lina's house. Along the way he's aided by another deserter, Absi, who believes in pacifism.

<!--according to a recent addition to WP:FILMPLOT, plots cannot be included until a film is publicly released. So I'm going to hide this plot in a comment until that happens, and I've written a short plot above that has sources.

During the rainy season in the Nuba Mountains region, all sides of the South Sudanese Civil War are forced to halt fighting due to excessive mud, but when the rain stops, the war resumes. The film takes place on the day of akasha, when the rebel armed forces gather their troops to return to war. In the rebel-held area, Adnan stayed with his girlfriend Lina while on leave from the army for heroically shooting down a drone. He professes his love of Nancy, the name of his AK-47, that he constantly cleans and decorates with beads and ribbons. Lina is jealous of this “other woman” and throws Adnan out of the house, though they agree to meet at their special tree at noon. Adnan runs into Abdi, a pacifist trying to avoid conscription, who invites him to come to his hiding spot. Adnan still plans to return to the war, but he left his gun in Lina’s house. If he returns without the gun he’ll face one year in prison. Abdi agrees to retrieve the gun for Adnan. When Abdi tries to sneak into Lina's house, he accidentally turns on a loud boombox, which alerts the neighbors. They capture him and accuse him of theft, but he escapes during a subsequent air raid.

Next, Abdi and Adnan disguise themselves as women to get the gun and avoid the soldiers. They pick out clothes, practice carrying water on their heads, and even borrow a baby to carry. The disguise is not convincing, as Adnan is quickly identified by an ex-girlfriend. In an attempt to diffuse the situation, he promises to go to a wedding with her later that day.

Lina waits at the special tree, but Adnan never shows. She returns home just in time to find Adnan and Abdi snatch the gun, and accuses them of theft. A village elder holds an informal trial, and the gun is determined to be Lina’s property. Adnan can't return to the military without his gun, so Abdi leads Adnan to his hiding spot, where a witch doctor prepares a hallucinogenic flower for them. Adnan hallucinates and relives the moment when he shot down the drone. From their hiding place, Abdi spots a large group of enemy tanks approaching their village and decides to warn the general.

Adnan shows up at the wedding, still high, looking for Lina and disrupts the festivities. He goes to the special tree, where his and Lina’s names are carved. He goes to Lina’s house, but is confronted by her and two other women with whom he flirted. He apologizes to Lina, admits that he actually has terrible aim and that the "heroic" drone shot was a lucky accident. The three women have enough of him, and give the gun Adnan. However, the name Nancy is scratched out and replaced with the three women's names.

Abdi warns the general about the approaching enemy forces, winning the general’s favor. Adnan and Abdi climb into a truck and drive off to continue the fight. -->

Cast

 * Kamal Ramadan as Adnan
 * Ekram Marcus as Lina
 * Mohamed Chakado as Absi
 * Abdallah Alnur as Blues

Production
Kuka met two of the lead actors, Mohamed Chakado and Kamal Ramadan, while teaching drama at a local youth centre, and decided to cast them in the film. He cast Ekram Marcus to play Lina because she is so similar to the character: choosing to pursue education rather than get married.

Release
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two of the actors, Kamal Ramadan and Mohamed Chakado, could not attend the festivals because Uganda refused to allow their departure while awaiting their refugee status papers. The film also screened at the Africa in Motion festival in Edinburgh.

Reception
aKasha received mixed reviews. Alvise Mainardi of Non Solo Cinema wrote that even though the low budget is evident, it's hard not to like it. Martina Barone of Cinematographe felt that while the actors' performances often drag down the quality of the film, this debut shows that the director has a talent for film-making.