4th Edition of El Gouna Film Festival to Kick off Tonight

The 4th edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) rolls out on Friday the red carpet for its opening at El Gouna Resort-town in Red Sea governorate, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The festival will run until October 31.

GFF, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, will provide the tools and follow the measures necessary to ensure a safe, healthy, and enjoyable festival.

For outdoor events, Gouna Conference and Culture Center (The Plaza) is equipped to accommodate up to 1000 guests and will be dedicated to holding the opening and closing ceremonies, in addition to the galas.

Attendee

Stars and public figures have begun to make their way to the resort town to prepare for the opening ceremony, including, Rogena, Ayten Amer and her husband director of photography, Mohamad Ezz Al-Arab, Mondher Rayahneh, Injy El Mokkaddem, Soulafa Maamar, and Mohye Ismail.

It is reported that the opening festival will also be attended by Assala Nasri, Jumana Murad, Dorra, Yousra, Aïcha Ben Ahmed, Laila Olwy, Nelly Karim, Menna Shalaby, Elham Shahin, Shereen Reda, Riham Abdel Ghafour, Ghada Adel, Dina El Sherbiny, Rania Youssef, and others.

GFF previously announced that Indian actress, Richa Chadda, is set to attend the festival.

Performances

Egyptian Award-winning Mezzo-Soprano Farrah El Dibany, and music composer Moustapha El Halawany are set tp perform at the opening ceremony.

Furthermore, the festival continues its “Cinema in Concert” tradition, in which an orchestral performance of film scores of classics and audience favorites.

GFF will screen Charlie Chaplin’s newly restored copy of “The Kid” accompanied by an orchestra led by Maestro Ahmed El Saidi.

Cinema in Concert will be held at Gouna Conference and Culture Center.

Opening film

The festival has set Tunisian film "The man who sold his back" by director Tunisian Kawthar Ben Hania, premiered in the Venice Film Festival's Horizons section, as its opening night screening.

The plot revolves around Sam Ali, a young sensitive and impulsive Syrian, who left his country for Lebanon to escape the war, he accepts to have his back tattooed by one of the World's most sulfurous contemporary artist, to be able to travel to Europe and live with the love of his life.

It stars Yahya Mahayni, Dea Liane, Monica Bellucci, Koen De Bouw, Wim Delvoye, and others.

How to Watch?

Lebanese presenter Hilda Khalife is set to present the opening ceremony, which will broadcast on “On E” satellite channel at 5:00 PM (Cairo local time), and live-streamed on Facebook.

Honorees

Actor Khaled El Sawy and renowned production designer Onsi Abou Seif are set to receive the Career Achievement Award, for their distinctive and influential participation in the art scene.

GFF will also host an exhibition of Onsi Abou Seif works, which will include some of his designs and sketches, video clips from his films, movie posters, and awards he has received for his career.

Jury

The festival’s Feature Narrative Competition jury will include Egyptian actor, Asser Yassin, award-winning Sudanese filmmaker and screenwriter Amjad Abu Alala, Chilean film director Rodrigo Sepúlveda, film producer

Thierry Lenouvel, and British director Peter Webber.

The Feature Documentary Competition jury consists of acclaimed Egyptian director Marianne Khoury, Lebanese director Simon El-Habre, director Bernard Karl, and Swedish producer Freddy Olsson.

The Short Film Competition will be headed by Tunisian filmmaker Raja Amari, and includes renowned Indian actor Ali Fazal, French producer Guillaume de Seille, Syrian actress Kinda Alloush, and Senegalese actress Mareme N'Diaye .

Films

At least 45 films set to screen, including 16 films participating in the Feature Narrative Competition, 10 films in the Feature Documentary Competition, 18 films in the Short Film Competition, and 2 films in GFF’s Special Presentations program.

The festival will also be screening 17 films in its Official Selection out of Competition section.

Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek’s first international film, “The Furnace” by Australian director Roderick MacKay is set to compete in the official competition.

For this year’s CineGouna Platform, GFF has invited several leading regional and international experts in the field of cinema to participate in its various activities. CineGounaSpringBoard received 99 submissions (65 projects in development and 34 films in post-production) from the Arab world.

For the second year in a row, the festival hosts the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) jury, consisting of Moscow-based film critic Andrey Vasilenko, Rome-based director Italo Spinelli, and Egyptian writer Magdy El-Tayeb as well as the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) jury, critics Rami El-Metwalli, Bitopan Borborah, and director Pierre-Simon Gutman.

Gemini Uplift4GFF

Gemini Enterprises Africa Gemini Africa is launching the first regional pitching event “Gemini Uplift4GFF” in collaboration with GFF, to support startups and creatives in the entertainment industry by giving them the right exposure, mentorship, partnerships, and business opportunities.

Actress Shereen Reda is participating in GFF as a member of Gemini Uplift4GFF” competition, which she launches on Saturday, October 24, at 1 PM at the Plaza, on the festival's sidelines.