From October 16 to 24, 2025, the seaside resort of El Gouna, Egypt, will host the 8ᵉ edition of its film festival, an unmissable event on the map of major cultural events in the MENA region. Since its creation, the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has established itself as a meeting space between Arab and international cinematographies, a place of discovery and dialogue where confirmed filmmakers and new talents intersect. The announcement of the first part of its programming confirms this ambition: thirteen films, several of which are already haloed in prices in the biggest festivals, come to set the tone for an edition which promises to be particularly prestigious.
“” We are incredibly proud of the carefully developed program that will be presented, each film contributing to a rich tapestry of stories from around the world. The festival is a dialogue and discovery platform, and we are convinced that this first selection will resonate deeply with our audience “Said Marianne Khoury, artistic director of the GFF.
Films already awarded on the international scene
Iranian cinema will open this first selection with It was just an accident/a simple accident of Jafar Panahi, Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Film Festival. True to his art of bringing out small situations a larger portrait of society, Panahi follows the cascading consequences of a simple road accident. Behind the apparent banality of the starting point, the film explodes complex social and political mechanisms, a writing which earned the filmmaker his international recognition and which finds in El Gouna a new audience.
Another big name for contemporary author’s cinema, Joachim Trier returns with Sentimental value. Winner of the Grand Prix in Cannes, this intimate account explores the relationship of two sisters to the opposite trajectories: one chose the acting career, the other family life. The return of their father, a absent and now aged filmmaker, revives old wounds and questions the relationship to memory, art and family ties. Trier had already marked El Gouna in 2021 with The Worst Person in the World ; His return testifies to the loyalty of certain filmmakers at the festival.
Always from Norway, Dag Johan Haugerud won the Berlinale gold bear with Dreams (Sex Love). The film adopts the adolescent point of view of a young girl falling in love with her teacher, whom she says in her writings. More than just an initiation story, the work highlights the discovery of desire, the construction of identity and the complexity of intimate speech. The critical recognition obtained in Berlin – with the added bonus of the Fipresci Prize – confirms the singularity of his approach.
Richard Linklater, meanwhile, offers with Blue Moon A daring variation in real time: the story focuses on the evening of March 31, 1943, where the lyricist Lorenz Hart faces the collapse of his professional and personal life. Carried by Andrew Scott, rewarded in Berlin of a silver bear for his performance, the film is a dive into the destiny of an artist, where human fragility meets the requirement of creation.
Between realism and imagination: shattering fiction
The selection also highlights stories where reality is disturbed in contact with the imaginary. With ResurrectionBi Gan imagines a private world of the dream where a monster tries to preserve the last illusions. Carried by a sensory aesthetic, the film, crowned in Cannes of a special prize, questions the place of dreams and unconscious in a mechanized society.
In Sound of FallingMascha Schilinski tells the story of four young girls, separated by a century but united by the same place, a farm where their lives are reflected in each other. Winner of the jury prize in Cannes, the film addresses the passage of time, the memory of the premises and the transmission between generations.
The Mexican Ernesto Martínez Bucio makes a remarkable entry with his first feature film, The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box). The film features five abandoned children, delivered to the guard of a schizophrenic grandmother. Between reality and hallucinations, this disturbing story, awarded at the Berlinale, offers a dive into a dark imagination, revealing a new talent to follow.
Two other films enrich this category of stories anchored in life and creation. With A poetSimón Mesa Soto follows the journey of an old erratic writer who finds meaning in her life by guiding a teenager towards writing. Awarded in Cannes in the section A certain lookthe film testifies to the importance of meetings and the role of mentors. Finally, Laura Wandel, already known to the public of El Gouna for A world/playground, comes back with Adam’s Sake. The story, centered on a pediatric nurse confronted with the despair of a mother refusing to leave her hospitalized child, delicately addresses the pain, solidarity and commitment of caregivers. Presented at the opening of Critique Week in Cannes, the film confirms Wandel’s place as a filmmaker attentive to childhood and human relations.
Powerful and poetic documentaries
At the end of this first selection, the festival also offers several significant documentaries. Better Go Mad in The Wild From Miro Remo (Czech Republic, Slovakia) explores the complex relationship of twins raised in nature and confronted with separation. Rewarded with the Grand Prix of the Karlovy Vary festival, the film combines sensitive observation and reflection on the fraternal link and loneliness.
With AlwaysDeming Chen delivers an allegory on the loss of innocence through the journey of a young Chinese, Gong Youbin, who is discovered during the poetry. This first film, already a winner of the Dox: Award to CPH: Dox, demonstrates the vitality of the contemporary documentary and its ability to seize unpublished narrative forms.
Finally, Raoul Peck, a major figure in the committed documentary, returns with Orwell: 2+2 = 5. After the international success of I am not your negropresented in El Gouna in 2017, Peck is focusing this time in the last months of George Orwell and the burning news of his work 1984. Concepts such as doublethink or the Newspeak Find a disturbing resonance in our contemporary world, strengthening the political relevance of documentary cinema.
A festival at the heart of cultural dialogue
Since its creation, the El Gouna Film Festival has set itself the mission of creating a bridge between the cinemas of the world. By presenting Arab and international films to a curious and informed audience, he contributes to the circulation of works and the emergence of new voices. “These films represent a worldwide range of stories, ranging from fiction to the most impactful documentaries, many of which have already been distinguished in major festivals. It is only an overview of the cinematographic journey that awaits our audience, ”said Andrew Mohsen, head of the programming.
The richness of this first selection testifies to the ambition of the GFF: to highlight demanding films, confirmed signatures as revelations, and to offer spectators an experience in which cultures, aesthetic and visions of the world meet. In the coming weeks, new titles will complete this programming, but already, this first announcement affirms the role of El Gouna as an essential crossroads of international cinema.
Neïla Driss
