El Gouna 2024 – Opening of submissions for the 7th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival
The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) is delighted to announce that it now accepts film submissions for its 7th edition which will take place from October 24 to November 1, 2024. The submission period opens on April 15, 2024 and will end on July 15, 2024. The filmmakers can access the registration form and the detailed directives on the official festival website: www.elgounafilmfestival.com
Renowned not only for its picturesque beauty but also for its unwavering support for arts and innovation, El Gouna offers an ideal setting to celebrate cinematic excellence.
The selected films will compete for the L’Etoile d’El Gouna prices and a total sum of 234,000 US dollars through the competition of fiction feature films, the documentary competition, or the competition of short films. The films tackling humanitarian themes will have the opportunity to compete for the prize for the cinema for humanity, while those dealing with environmental questions will be able to claim the green Star of El Gouna.
Marianne Khoury, artistic director of the GFF, expressed her enthusiasm, declaring: ” Each year, we are captivated by the creativity and passion of filmmakers. “Stressing the extraordinary increase in submissions, she added:” Our film submissions experienced a remarkable increase, from around 400 in 2017 to more than 1,400 admissions in 2023. We are grateful for the growing interest of our festival from filmmakers from all over the world. We are impatient to continue our quest to discover cinematographic jewels, new voices and various perspectives in cinema and invite filmmakers around the world to submit their works for our 7th edition to come.“”
In addition to presenting exceptional films, the GFF offers a whole range of industrial events, networking opportunities and thematic discussions designed to promote dialogue and collaboration between filmmakers, industry professionals and the public.
Reiterating the vision and mission of the festival, AMR Mansi, executive director of the GFF, said: ” As a leading platform to celebrate exceptional cinematographic achievements, the El Gouna Film Festival meticulously selects a diverse range of captivating films among the entries that we receive. Through our industrial projections and events, we aim to cultivate a dynamic community of storytellers and cinema enthusiasts sharing a passion for the transformative power of cinema. We are firmly committed to promoting connections between professionals in local, regional and international industries, thus enriching collective experience for all. »»
In recent years, the GFF has consolidated its position as a lighthouse of artistic excellence in the region, receiving growing support from the cinematographic community and industry professionals around the world. The festival continues to attract an increasing number of submissions which contribute to the richness of the unique cinematic programming of the festival and its growing influence.
About the El Gouna Film Festival
The El Gouna Film Festival, founded in 2017, is one of the main 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 through 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 festival undertakes to discover 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 event oriented towards industry created to support Egyptian and Arabic filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. The Cinegouna platform presents the Cinegouna Bridge program which offers opportunities for sharing and learning, and Cinegouna Springboard, a project for project development and co -production; The Cinegouna Market and the Short Film Lounge, a meeting place between emerging and established filmmakers. Another unique characteristic of the market is our Cinegouna Emerge initiative, launched in 2023, intended for young men and women through Egypt working in various fields of cinema. She offers them immersive experience and the opportunity to participate in all the festival activities and to benefit from it. The El Gouna Film Festival gives priority to the construction of audiences and the promotion of the love of cinema from an early age. To do this, the GFF invites the schools of El Gouna to participate, highlighting the importance of learning to appreciate and engage with cinema from an early age.
