Returning Sands
Sunrise over a bridge in Khartoum
A Sudanese Cultural Heritage Campaign · 2026 – 2027

ReturningSands

A campaign and short documentary by Paris Sistilli, Yusef Bushara, and Camilla Marchese González — protecting Sudanese cultural memory amid one of the world’s most devastating and underreported conflicts.

CairoDec 2026
LondonJan 2027
New YorkNov 2026 – Feb 2027
The pyramids of Meroë in Sudan

Opening Statement

“Beneath the wreckage of homes and hospitals lies another front in this war: the systematic erasure of a nation’s cultural memory.”
— Ali Nour · Blue Shield Sudan

What’s at Stake

Cultural heritage is a tangible expression of identity.

In times of conflict, that identity becomes a strategic target — a way to erode the memory, cohesion, and continuity of a people. Although commonly framed as a “civil war,” Sudan since 2023 has been in the throes of a counter-revolutionary war. The country has witnessed widespread and irreversible damage to archaeological sites, archives, and museums.

Destruction in Sudan is ongoing, not confined to the past. Immediate documentation and action are essential. Heritage workers continue to operate under extreme, time-sensitive conditions with limited visibility and support — underscoring the urgent need for greater aid, technical expertise, and protective resources.

Impact Campaign

Three cities, one film, one global call.

Returning Sands is a global campaign that launches with education and art exhibition events in Cairo, London, and New York — serving as both visibility platforms and fundraising catalysts for the short documentary at the heart of the project.

The ambition extends beyond a single screening or exhibition. At its core is the production of a documentary film to be submitted to festivals across the SWANA region and internationally, fostering sustained engagement with the urgent issues of heritage preservation in Sudan and the deliberate targeting of cultural sites in conflict zones.

Through this work, we seek to engage Sudanese communities within the country and across the diaspora, while reaching a broader global audience — to amplify awareness and mobilize a wider call to action.

Goals of the Project

Five threads holding the work together.

  1. 01

    Support the documentation of endangered heritage and lived memory.

  2. 02

    Amplify the work of Sudanese heritage professionals, including emerging efforts tied to Blue Shield Sudan.

  3. 03

    Collaborate with Sudanese artists and heritage experts to tackle the issue of futurity in an interdisciplinary fashion.

  4. 04

    Enable future pathways to rebuild, recover, and sustain Sudanese cultural heritage — within the country and across the diaspora.

  5. 05

    Position culture as a core component of humanitarian and post-conflict response.

The Documentary

From exile in Egypt, a fight to keep memory alive.

The film follows the story of Ali Nour, a Sudanese heritage professional leading efforts to protect his country’s cultural legacy amid one of the world’s most devastating and underreported conflicts — a war that has displaced over twelve million people and triggered the widespread, deliberate destruction of museums, archives, and historic sites.

From Cairo, Ali and a network of displaced Sudanese experts coordinate high-risk safeguarding operations across Sudan, confronting the collapse of national infrastructure and the limits of international support. Expanding beyond preservation alone, the film also enters the lives of Sudanese artists, musicians, and scholars in exile — capturing the active creation and transmission of cultural heritage within the diaspora. Heritage stands not only as something under threat, but as a living force: central to identity, survival, and the future of Sudan itself.

Archival photograph from Sudan

Logline

From exile in Egypt, Ali Nour coordinates Sudan’s fight to keep heritage alive. With national memory under siege, Ali and his crew of brave volunteers do everything to safeguard Sudan’s future while maintaining its thread to the past.
Architectural heritage — historic gateway in Sudan

Introducing

Ali Nour

A grants-management specialist and cultural heritage advocate. Ali serves as Secretary General of Blue Shield Sudan and rapporteur of the Emergency Response Committee under Sudan’s National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM).

With a background in strategic fundraising, proposal development, and crisis coordination, he supports regional and international efforts to document, stabilise, and protect heritage in Sudan.

“Heritage workers operate under constant threat amidst an active war, with civilian attacks intensifying, even in the capital, Khartoum.”
— Ali Nour
Vintage Sudanese postage stamp — Republican Palace, 2pt

Director’s Note

Aicha Cherif

Director · 2026 Sundance x Adobe Ignite Fellow

“With Returning Sands I venture into thematics of memory and belonging, through my own experience with displacement. Fleeing gender-based violence in my homeland, Guinea, at age one, I have found solace in storytelling.”

My intention with my forthcoming feature documentary HEAT is to showcase a neighborhood filled with a rich and textured history — and with this project, I explore the same questions of identity and belonging from a different lens. As part of the creative process, I’m in open conversation with Sudanese filmmakers and creatives, as well as Ali and his community of heritage workers, to make sure to highlight their voices and stories in a collaborative manner.

Events

Three cities, one thread.

Each city combines exhibitions, academic panels, and fundraising moments — open to the public, with limited capacity.

Dec 2026

Cairo

Where much of the heritage work is now coordinated from exile.

  • Access Art Space ExhibitDec 18–20

    Fifteen Sudanese artists, curated by Reem Aljeally, exploring memory, return, and home.

  • Educational Panel · AUCDec 16

    A half-day series with Sudanese heritage expert Dr. Amira Ahmed — a refugee focus-group conversation, then a panel with ICROM, UNESCO, Blue Shield Sudan, and the National Archives.

  • Oral History ProjectOngoing

    With Oral Historian Afra Elagab — cultural heritage in exile, toward a digital repository and bilingual publication.

Jan 2027

London

Carrying the project into the diaspora.

  • London ExhibitionOne week · Jan

    Four artists — two Bermudian, two Sudanese — on the unlikely kinship of return. Sponsored by the Bermuda Arts Council.

  • Culture House FiresideJanuary

    A conversation on collective memory and testimony with African heritage stakeholders, hosted by Culture House.

Nov 2026 – Feb 2027

New York

The campaign's primary fundraising engine.

  • Private Donor EventNov 2026

    Philanthropists from the arts and culture world; impact trailer, remarks, and a silent auction of contemporary Sudanese art.

  • Interactive Public ShowcaseMid-Nov 2026

    With NYC-based Sudanese arts collectives — performance, mingling, and a live community-generated art installation.

  • ExhibitionFeb 2027

    Curated by Paris Sistilli and Fatma Yasier — Sudanese artists on memory, return, and home.

Archival portrait — memory and adornment

Oral History Project

Ten artists, in their own words.

In consultation with Oral Historian Afra Elagab, the project will follow ten Sudanese artists in Cairo, documenting their experiences of exile, displacement, and cultural loss — collecting personal archives of photographs, documents, artworks, and objects that go beyond the artists themselves, drawing from the wider Sudanese community in Cairo and abroad.

These materials will be digitized into a community-led digital archive, positioning civil-society collections as critical resources for post-conflict cultural recovery — ultimately becoming a virtual museum, making Sudanese cultural memory accessible to audiences worldwide.

Project Timeline

A year of building, gathering, and going to film.

  1. Summer 2026

    Development Begins

    • Onboarded Aicha Cherif as documentary director
    • Backed by the Sundance x Adobe Ignite Fellowship
    • Fundraising promo video assembled; crew comes together
    • Received fiscal sponsorship from SIMA

  2. Fall 2026

    Fundraising Begins

    • NYC fundraising events and private donations begin
    • Grant application rollout continues

  3. Nov – Dec 2026

    Pre-Production · Cairo

    • Executing the Cairo exhibit and academic events
    • Film crew and shoot dates locked
    • Story arc finalized; oral history interviews begin

  4. Jan – Feb 2027

    London & New York

    • Executing the London exhibit and academic events
    • Impact trailer screens; NYC exhibit and academic events
    • Logistics finalized for the spring shoot

  5. May 2027

    Production

    • Crew travels to Cairo
    • Filming conducted over a period of 2–3 weeks

  6. Fall 2027

    Post-Production

    • Editing, coloring, and sound are executed
    • Festival submission strategy rolls out
Historical portrait — adornment and identity

Closing Statement

“Country is more than territory, it is memory… So if you protect that now, in the middle of this chaos, then we will have a foundation through which we can rebuild.”
— Ali Nour
Vintage Sudanese postage stamp — Republican Palace, 2pt

Core Creative Team

Built across three cities,with friends.

Returning Sands is produced by Paris Quetzal Sistilli, Yusef Bushara, and Camilla Marchese González, directed by Aicha Cherif, with creative, advisory, and coordination support spanning New York, London, and Cairo. Where possible we work with friends and collaborators pro bono — the priority is paying heritage workers and contributors for their time.

Core Team

  • Jenna Khalil

    Cairo Impact Coordinator

  • Afra Elagab

    Oral Historian

  • Anisa Estrada

    Researcher · Historic Preservation

  • Cillian Lavelle

    Finance Coordinator

  • Micheal Isaak

    Researcher

Contact & Support

If this work matters to you, get in touch.

We’re actively building partnerships, applying for grants, and looking for friends who can help — through funding, expertise, venues, or simply by carrying the word forward. Reach out to the producer or the creative director directly.

Email the ProducerEmail the Creative Director
Vintage Sudanese postage stamp — Republican Palace, 2pt
Masthead of a vintage Sudanese magazine, Majallat al-Nahda al-Sudaniyya

Producer

Paris Quetzal Sistilli

pqsistilli@gmail.com

+1 (443) 699 4957 · New York

Creative Director

Yusef Bushara

ysbushara@gmail.com

+44 (0) 7568 946890 · London