The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has announced an ambitious collaboration with Netflix, the world leader in streaming, to organize a new workshop entitled “Ever After: Developing A Series (And after: develop a series)». This initiative, planned as part of the 8th edition of the festival, which will be held from October 16 to 24, 2025, will take place over three days, from October 18 to 20, and will bring together professional screenwriters, producers and directors around an immersive experience at the heart of the serial writing process.
This workshop will be led by Leonard Dickaward -winning Canadian screenwriter and producer at the Emmy Awards, whose career is punctuated by cult series like Lost,, House,, The Good Wife or Truth be told. Originally from Toronto, Leonard Dick has developed several projects for prestigious channels such as HBO, FX or Fox, and supported Netflix in the development of international productions. Its presence in El Gouna illustrates the ability of the festival to attract influential figures from the sector and to offer participants direct access to the experience of the biggest showrunners.
The concept of the workshop is daring: to dive the participants in the energy of a Writers’ Room (Authors’ Salle) and entrust them with the mission of collectively designing a one -hour dramatic series entitled Ever after. The founding question is both provocative and inspiring: “What’s going on after the fairy tale, when the sleeping beauty is awakened by Prince Charming?” »» Over the course of three days, participants will learn to build characters, define a tone and themes, imagine a pilot intrigue and draw the main lines of the first season.
The workshop, led in English, is aimed at confirmed professionals who have already worked on at least two films or broadcast series. The applications are open via the official website of the El Gouna film festival, with a deadline set for September 10, 2025.
AMR Mansi, co -founder and executive director of the festival, stressed the importance of this collaboration: “This collaboration between the GFF and Netflix reflects the festival’s commitment to encourage creativity and to offer a platform to regional and international talents to interact directly with world industry leaders. By offering such an opportunity, the festival confirms its role as a cultural crossroads connecting emerging professionals to the highest standards of world narration. »»
A partnership with issues for the MENA region
Beyond its prestigious character, this initiative has a particular meaning for the Middle East region and North Africa. While global platforms, such as Netflix, which has more than 300 million paying subscribers in 190 countries, seek to diversify their stories and include more votes from different cultures, GFF is asserting itself as an essential catalyst. By giving access to Arab talents to American and international writing methods, the festival opens a precious gateway between local creativity and global standards.
In a context where the Arab series experience an unprecedented boom thanks to digital broadcasting, this workshop allows screenwriters and directors of the region to improve their narrative tools while remaining anchored in their cultural specificities. The objective is not only to reproduce models from elsewhere, but to find the means to raise local accounts to the rank of productions capable of seducing a global audience.
Already promising precedents: Arabic experience with Netflix
The partnership between Netflix and the GFF is part of an already started dynamic, since the platform has invested in recent years in several Arab projects having found an international echo. Among the most striking, three series are particularly distinguished.
- Ola is looking for her way/Finding Ola : released in 2022, this Egyptian series marks the return of a cult television character, Ola Abdel Sabour, interpreted by Hend Sabry, also an executive producer. The story follows Ola, divorced quarantine and mother of two children, who embarks on a quest for reconstruction and independence. Season 2 welcomed the Tunisian actor Dhafer the Abidine, further strengthening the regional echo of the series.
- Love, life, etc … /Love, Life & Everything in Between (2022): This anthology in eight episodes mixing black humor and drama has gathered renowned Arab filmmakers. For Tunisia, a signature is distinguished: Kaouther Ben Hania, already celebrated in Cannes and Oscars, and is in the process of flying again to Hollywwod. The series illustrates how stories anchored in local realities can resonate far beyond the region.
- Catalog (Kitâlûj) : Launched in 2025, this Egyptian-dramatic comic series signed Ayman Wattar tells the story of Youssef, widower and father of two children, who relies on the videos left by his late wife, influencer, to learn to raise her children. This mixture of humor and emotion immediately appealed to the public, propelling the series at the top of trends in many Arab countries.
These experiences are not isolated. Netflix has already explored different Arab horizons with Jinn And Alrawabi School for Girls in Jordan, Paranormal in Egypt, Dollar in Lebanon, or Crashing EID and the animated series Masameer in Saudi Arabia. Recent titles like The Exchange,, The matchmaker,, Alkhallat+ Or Dubai bling extend this dynamic, confirming the growing interest of the platform for stories carried by Arab creators.
GFF, talent incubator and international bridge
In a few years, the El Gouna’s film festival has established itself as a key player in the film ecosystem in the MENA region. Through his selections, his professional meetings and his initiatives, he does not just be a showcase: he acts as an incubator, revealing and accompanying emerging talents. By associating with Netflix and welcoming Leonard Dick, the festival confirms this vocation and opens more internationally, while highlighting the richness and diversity of Arab voices.
By initiating this partnership, the GFF takes a new step: it is no longer just a question of hosting films, but actively supporting the creation of stories called to travel far beyond regional screens. For Arab creators, this meeting with Netflix and Leonard Dick could mark the beginning of a new era where their stories, nourished by their culture and their singularity, find a universal echo.
Neïla Driss
