A fire broke out on the morning of Wednesday, 13 October in one section of the Festival Plaza, where the opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival is scheduled to be held tomorrow.
According to a statement released by the Egyptian Cabinet, 14 people suffered from smoke inhalation injuries, with eight being transferred to El Gouna Hospital for medical attention.
Firefighting vehicles and ambulances immediately arrived at the scene and succeeded in putting out the fire, El Gouna Film Festival’s media department reports, and no injuries were reported.
In a statement, El Gouna Film Festival called for journalists not to refrain from attending the press conference scheduled for this afternoon.
“We assure everyone that the location of the press conference had nothing to do with the fire,” reads the statement.
“Everything will come back to normal by tonight,” notes Samih Sawiris, Chairman of Orascom Development Holding, assuring that the rest of the venue and stage is untouched, and that the fire only affected a small part of the party venue.
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Taking place on 14 October, this festival aims to connect filmmakers from the region with international audiences and counterparts to promote international cooperation and cultural exchange. It includes a variety of thought-provoking films from the Middle East and North Africa, with Egypt holding a total of seven confirmed submissions.
Find out more about the films that will be screened by clicking here.
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