The 4th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has been rescheduled to take place in October, one month later than initially planned, due to coronavirus.
The festival was originally scheduled to take place from September 24 to October 2 and is now set to take place on October 23-31, 2020.
GFF official website has announced in a press release that the decision comes in response to the challenging circumstances that all international film festivals are facing and with the intention to deliver a safe festival experience to its guests and audiences.
The festival is held under its permanent slogan “Cinema for Humanity” at El Gouna Resort-town, in Red Sea governorate, amid the attendee of celebrities.
On the other hand, the festival program will be announced by the end of September.
"Several film festivals have been impacted by the pandemic and their return to the scene will send a positive signal that the world is on its way to normalcy," GFF Director Intishal Al Timimi stated in a statement.
He added: "At GFF, we chose to live in this hope and positivity and continue our commitment to contribute to the international and regional growth of cinema, and to ensure a healthy and enjoyable experience for all participants."
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Intishal Al Tamimi[/caption]
The novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, and has infected more than one million people and killed over 234,139 worldwide. It also hit several celebrities and top political figures around the world.
The virus is a new member of the Coronaviruses group, which was never identified in humans. The viruses’ family also includes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), which cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Humans and animals such as mammals and birds can be affected by the disease.
The name coronavirus is derived from the Latin corona, meaning “crown” or “halo”.
On February 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the official name for the disease caused by the new coronavirus is Covid-19, taken from the words “corona”, “virus” and “disease”.
In December 2019, an outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China. On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus, which was given the interim name 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO), it was later renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 800,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
Transmission of viruses between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough.
Coronavirus can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
It is known that older people appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of the emerging virus.
The virus caused complete paralysis in all activities and events with large gatherings worldwide due to concerns over the spread of the virus.
People across the globe partake in self-isolation for 14 days as an effective precautionary measure to protect those around them and themselves from contracting COVID-19.
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Celebrties at El Gouna Film Festival[/caption]
El Gouna Film Festival in focus
The festival was established on September 22, 2017, to underscore the role cinema plays in promoting cultural interaction and to highlight the awareness of different cinematic voices through encouraging dialogue and by building bridges of creative intellect.
The festival aims to generate opportunities for the development and support of all contemporary forms of creative expressions in the MENA region, especially between young generations from the Arab world and their international counterparts.
Furthermore, GFF presents a selection of the newest films from around the globe as well as host established and emerging filmmakers.
The festival program includes three competitive sections, the “Feature Narrative Competition”, the “Feature Documentary Competition”, and the “Short Films Competition”.
It also features an “Official selection out of competition” section, and a section devoted to “special programs”.
In addition, it pays special attention to films with humanitarian content.
The festival also organizes the “CineGouna platform”, which is a creative and business hub designed to support Egyptian and Arab talents, during which a wide range of meetings are organized between Arab and international directors, producers, and distributors to enhance business opportunities for the Arab cinema.
In parallel to the screening and the CineGouna platform, it will also present round-tables, workshops, panels, and masterclasses.
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