In the wake of its previous editions, the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), in its fourth edition, called on some of the directors (including the Tunisian Raja Amari), critics and experts from the film, international and Arabic industry, the most talented, to select the winning films of its three major competitions. With the participation of films acclaimed by famous and influential directors, in addition to exciting and innovative films of emerging filmmakers, the process of selection of laureates could prove to be an arduous task for juries, whose members have just been announced.
The jury for fiction feature films competition is made up of:
– the Egyptian actor, screenwriter and producer enslave Yassin;
– Sudanese filmmaker and screenwriter Amjad Abu Alala, whose feature film You will die at twenty – you will die at twenty years old (2019) won the Lion of the Future Award at the 76th edition of the Venice Mostra, The gold Star Fiction feature In the 3rd edition of the El Gouna film festival, Golden Tanit for the best 1st feature film work – Tahar Cheriaa Prize at JCC 2019in addition to fifteen awards for international festivals;
– Chilean director Rodrigo Sepúlveda, whose last feature film, My Tender Matador (2020), was selected in some of the most prestigious international film festivals, in addition to being scheduled in the official selection outside the competition of this 4th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival;
-Producer Thierry Lenouvel, co-founder and general delegate of Cinemed (Mediterranean Film Festival) of Montpellier, who will thus be able to benefit festival-goers from his knowledge as a residential film festivals.
The English director and producer Peter Webber, who recently produced the famous television epic Kingdoms of Firewill chair this jury, that he will benefit from his vast experience of feature films and television.
The jury of the competition feature documentary is made up of:
– Egyptian director Marianne Khoury, who produced and co -produced around thirty feature films and documentaries awarded at regional and international festivals;
– Lebanese editor and director Simon El Habre, member of Beirut DC and international prize winner for his documentaries The One Man Village And Gate # 5;
– Swedish producer and programmer Freddy Olsson, senior programmer for the Gothenburg Film Festival of which he was the president for many years;
– Bernard Karl, director of the Around The World in 14 films festival (around the world in 14 films), and director of the “International Program” section at the Munich International Film Festival (Filmfest München).
Producer Marie-Pierre Macia, former director of the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, will be the president of this jury.
The jury of short films competition is made up of:
– Indian actor Ali Fazal, who drew the attention of the global public in Victoria & Abdul (2017);
– French screenwriter and producer Guillaume de Seille with decades of experience in television and the production of more than 50 international art and test films selected at major festivals;
– Syrian actress Kinda Alloush with more than 15 films and more than 20 television series to her credit;
– Senegalese actress Mareme N’Diaye, who played in particular in the film Mom (s) (2015) by Maïmouna Doucouré, and which was crowned with more than 60 prizes and distinctions around the world.
The jury will be chaired by the Tunisian filmmaker Raja Amari.
Red satin (2002), Raja’s first feature film, had been selected at the Berlinale and had great success with criticism. This film had won several awards in several film festivals. In 2004, Raja Amari made a documentary, The traces of oblivionthen turned in 2009 his second fictional feature, The secretswhich appears in the official selection at the Venice Mostra and Museum of Modern Art from New York in the Subjectivity Mapping section. She was running in 2016, Foreign bodywhich notably won the prize for the best screenplay at the International Film Festival Riverrun.
In 2019, Raja Amari has become a member of the Academy of Arts and Cinema Sciences, In addition to being appointed president of the Jury of the Gan Foundation for Cinema in France. She is also a member of the 50/50 collective which aims to promote the equality of women and men and diversity in cinema and audiovisual.
In addition, the 4th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival hosts the network jury for the promotion of Asian cinema (NetPac), composed of:
– Andrey Vasilenko, curator, programmer and film critic based in Moscow;
– Italo Spinelli, the director and curator based in Rome;
– The writer and critic of Egyptian cinema Magdy El Tayeb.
This year also marks the second time that the GFF has welcomed a jury from the International Federation of Cinema Critics (FIPRESCI), whose members are:
-Rami El-Metwalli, Egyptian film journalist and critic;
– Bitopan Borborah, award -winning novelist and film critic;
-Pierre-Simon Gutman, Director and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the film reviewBefore cinema scene.
Although it is only its fourth edition, the El Gouna Film Festival is today one of the main film festivals in the MENA region. Its objective is to present a wide variety of films to a passionate and informed audience, while promoting better communication between cultures through the art of cinema and to relate filmmakers in the region with their international counterparts in a spirit of cooperation and cultural exchange. The festival is engaged in the discovery of new voices and strives to be a catalyst for the development of cinema in the Arab world.
