It was during a press conference held this morning in Cairo this morning that the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) unveiled the details of its highly anticipated 6th edition, which will take place from October 13 to 20, 2023.
After a break of a year, the festival is back on the scene of festivals and has been prepared with enthusiasm for this special edition. The press conference was organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Among the participants were the founders of the GFF, sponsors and cinema professionals, including Naguib Sawiris, visionary founder of the festival, Samih Sawiris, a key figure of El Gouna, AMR Mansi, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Festival, Intishal Al Timimi, director of the festival, Marianne Khoury, artistic director of the festival, Omar El Hamamsy CEO of the Orascom Development group, actress Yousra, member of the International Consultative Council of GFF, Mohamed Amer, CEO of El Gouna, and Elena Panova, resident of the United Nations coordinator in Egypt.
Samih Sawiris, founder of El Gouna, said: “The return of the GFF and the determination to continue its path represents an absolute priority for me personally. Because of its objective of providing happiness to the public, and also for its vital mission which was carried out since its first edition in 2017, that of becoming the most important cinematographic platform in the Middle East and highlighting the value of the city of El Gouna as a unique tourist destination in the region. »»
Naguib Sawiris, co -founder of the festival, echoes these feelings: “My initial belief in the importance of establishing a film festival with international standards proves its sincerity with the future edition of the GFF, the stability of its position as well as its essential role in cultural life in Egypt and the support it brings reinforce its position in the Arab world. »»
The executive director of the GFF, Amr Mansi, thanked in his speech the press and the media, because they are an essential partner in the success of the festival since the first edition. He underlined their role in the preparation of this 6th edition and added: “We wanted to facilitate the coverage of the festival activities by creating the Hub festival, which will be the place of industry -related events as well as the red carpet. The centralization of all the activities of the Cinegouna platform in La Plaza will facilitate the balanced coverage of all the events of the festival by the press and the media. »»
Speaking, the director of the festival, Intishal Al Timimi, said: “The absence of the El Gouna film festival of the cultural calendar 2022 was strongly felt by all the interested parties. This made us all aware of the importance of the festival. We are happy to take up the role that the festival played in the development of industry in the region. I would like to thank the eminent personalities such as Yousra, Youssry Nasrallah, Abdel Rahman Sissako and Atiq Rahimi, who played an important role by nourishing the festival of their advice and their support since its beginnings. »»
The director of the festival also revealed that the jury of the fiction feature films competition would be chaired by director Jasmila žbanić, known for her famous film “Quo Vadis, Aida? Which had been screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, and appointed for the Oscar and the Bafta. In 2020, the film won the gold star of El Gouna Competition fiction feature films.
Marianne Khoury, artistic director of the festivalexpressed his satisfaction at being part of the GFF team and highlighted the challenges encountered in the past year and their commitment to create a captivating edition that stands out in a competitive field.
During the conference, the specifics of the 6th edition were revealed, including most of the programming of films, the events related to industry and activities, as well as the names of industry professionals, experts and eminent personalities of cinema expected for this edition.
The details of the announcements made were also given in a press kit, available on the festival website: https://elgounafilmfestival.com/publications
This year’s program promises to be exciting, with (to date) 14 films in competition feature fictional films12 films in competition feature documentary films and 21 films in short films, as well as films that will be presented in official selection outside competitions or special projections.
In addition, during the conference, details were revealed concerning the events related to the industry which are planned as part of the Cinegouna Springboard, the Cinegouna Bridge and the Cinegouna Market, the essential components of the Cinegouna platform.
The press has been informed that the call for projects for the Cinegouna Springboard this year was an exceptional success, with a total of 163 submissions received, including 117 development projects and 46 in post-production, from the MENA region. After a rigorous deliberation, the committee selected 20 projects-13 in development and 7 in post-production-for inclusion in the 6th edition of the Cinegouna Springboard. These selections were made according to their exceptional quality, their artistic vision and their financial viability, collecting praise from the committee for their exceptional merit.
Information has also been shared on the activities provided for at Cinegouna Bridge, which remains faithful to its mission as a place to share knowledge and experience of industry with emerging talents. As always, the Bridge will offer group discussions, workshops and masterclasses led by industry professionals and experts from around the world. It should be noted that the Cinegouna platform has invited many international and regional experts linked to various aspects of the film industry.
All these enriching events under the aegis of the Cinegouna platform will take place at the Plaza of the Festival in El Gouna from October 14 to 19, 2023. The speakers reminded the press that the festival remains firmly committed to supporting the regional industry on the world scene and will continue to work to empower the filmmakers of the region led beyond the borders of the Arab world.
In addition, the GFF is proud to recall the name of the Honorary Prize winner for his entire career. This prize, which celebrates people whose work and commitment in cinema have left an indelible footprint in their field, will be given to the famous Egyptian filmmaker Marwan Hamed, in recognition of his significant contributions to the cinema.
The member of the International Advisory Council, Youssra, expressed his joy for the return of the festival hoping that this 6th edition will be as successful, if not better as the first edition, which had been extraordinary. She revealed that the opening ceremony will be marked by the projection of a short film directed by Amr Salama. She added that cinema is an important industry, and even the spirit, conscience and culture of the nation, and wanted this year, unlike previous years when the spotlights are mainly on the dresses of the red carpets, the media will focus on workshops and films, especially with the presence of Artistic director Marianne Khourywhich is none other than the niece of the great director Youssef Chahine and who also made wonderful films herself. Yououssra also thanked Intishal Al Timimi for his considerable efforts, as well as Nagiub and Samih Sawiris for their continuous support. She added that she was delighted that Marwan Hamed be the worthy winner of the Honorary Prize for his entire career.
Information has been provided on several new initiatives that will be launched during this 6th edition. Among them, the Cinegouna Market, intended to become a hub for the established and emerging voices of the region, bringing together producers, distributors, sales representatives, financing agencies, etc.. Market stands will serve as a platform to present projects, industrial equipment, infrastructure, logistics and new initiatives from various organizations and institutions. The market aims to connect content creators with potential buyers, distributors and partners. A strong point of the market is the Short Film Lounge, which will offer the broadcast of short films selected at specific hours.
The festival organizers also unveiled Cinegouna Émerge, a program dedicated to beginner students and filmmakers. This program invites them to participate and benefit from all the events of the festival, by providing the resources, orientation, promotion and support necessary to encourage young talents. This initiative is aligned with the market mission aimed at promoting interactions within the vital entities of the region’s film industry, allowing established and emerging filmmakers to explore potential partners for the financing, realization and distribution of their works. The initiative will also introduce 200 young people from various Egyptian cities to the festival and its activities, with the support of the United Nations organizations.
Elena Panova, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Egypt, expressed her joy at participating in the festival this year, declaring: “I appreciate the partnership with Egypt. Our ambition to the United Nations is to support Egypt in its sustainable development, with this effort and this creative partnership. “She added:” The films give a voice to those we do not hear, a face to people whom we do not see normally. Our partnership with the El Gouna Film Festival began in its first edition, and we continue to support the festival and its cinema slogan for humanity. This year, we collaborate with the festival for its Cinegouna Émerge initiative, which will support students and young filmmakers. “She concluded by saying:” Let’s create happiness for people thanks to the festival. »»
In addition, the festival will announce a new collaboration with the Zawya cinema room (a well -known Cairo -based film platform which presents and broadcasts quality films), in order to expand the public of the festival. As part of this collaboration, the films of the GFF program will be screened in Zawya in Cairo from October 15 to 20, twice a day at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
The organizers of the festival also unveiled during the press conference the titles of the films of the Projections Special section, which include A tribute to Jane Birkin and a special program presenting the Projection of recently restored Sudanese cinematographic jewelry, in tribute to the Sudanese cinema group.
About the El Gouna Film Festival
One of the flagship festivals in the MENA region, the GFF aims to present a wide variety of films to a passionate and wise audience, while promoting better communication between cultures thanks to the art of cinema. Its objective is to connect filmmakers in the region with their international counterparts in a spirit of cooperation and cultural exchange. The El Gouna Film Festival has forged a reputation by presenting a diversified programming of films from around the world, with a strong accent on Arab cinema. The festival aims to promote and support industry growth in the region and to offer a platform to filmmakers to present their work. The festival is also engaged in the discovery of new voices and strives to be a catalyst for the development of cinema in the Arab world, in particular thanks to the Cinegouna platform, an industry -focused event created to empower Egyptian and Arabic filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. The Cinegouna platform presents the Cinegouna Springboard and Cinegouna Bridge programs, which offer sharing and learning opportunities.
