El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) and its partners announced a list of attendees, details of film screenings, and several new initiatives on Monday, 18 September in anticipation of the festival’s sixth edition, to be held from 13 to 20 October of this year.
Among those attending the festival are GFF founder Naguib Sawiris and El Gouna founder Samih Sawiris, along with the team of festival directors: Festival Executive Director and co-founder Amr Mansi, Iraqi actor and Festival Director Intishal Al Timimi, and Egyptian film producer and Artistic Director Marianne Khoury.
Other notable attendees include prominent Egyptian actress and GFF International Advisory Board member Youssra, Orascom Development CEO Omar El Hamamsy, El Gouna CEO Mohamed Amer, and UN Resident Coordinator Elena Panova.
The team organizing GFF have expressed their excitement that the festival is returning after its one-year hiatus in 2022.
“The absence of the El Gouna Film Festival from the cultural calendar was very much felt by all concerned. It made us and others conscious of the importance of the festival,” Festival Director Al Timimi commented.
47 films have been submitted to the festival’s various competitive categories with additional screenings set aside for the ‘Special Presentations’ and the ‘Official Selection Out of Competition’ sections.
CineGouna, the name under which several initiatives and events have been held to support Egyptian and Arab artists in accordance with the goals of GFF, will also be in play during the festival.
CineGouna Springboard, a project development and co-production lab, received 163 submissions, from which 20 projects have been selected for inclusion in GFF.
CineGouna Bridge, a hub for sharing industry insights and experience with emerging talents, has also planned masterclasses, workshops, and panels to empower MENA filmmakers around the globe.
Additionally, the GFF team announced CineGouna Emerge, an initiative to support students and first-time filmmakers in the industry.
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