Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Fire Breaks Out at GFF's Main Venue (Video)


Wed 13 Oct 2021 | 02:16 PM
Yara Sameh

A fire broke out on Wednesday in the Gouna Conference and Culture Centre (Festival Plaza), the main venue of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), just one day before the 5th edition was set to kick off.

Numerous fire engines and ambulances were dispatched to the scene after the governorate’s operations room had been informed of the incident.

In a statement, El Gouna Film Festival Management announced that the fire has been contained.

Once the fire broke out, the management coordinated with the Civil Protection Forces to send fire trucks in cooperation with the El Gouna firefighting forces to control the fire.

The fire damaged a small part of the hall prepared to receive the opening activities of the festival.

السيطرة على حريق قاعة المؤتمرات بمهرجان الجونة - اخبارنا اليوم

Red Sea governor Amr Hanafy told "Al-Ahram" that no injuries were reported in the fire.

The opening ceremony of the 5th edition El Gouna Film Festival is still on course and is slated to take place on Thursday at El Gouna Resort-town in the Red Sea governorate.

In a statement, Eng. Samih Sawiris, EL Gouna Founder and Orascom Development Holding Chairman, Samih Sawiris, noted that the 5th edition will proceed as planned and extended the festival's gratitude to the Civil Defense Forces and the Red Sea Governorate for their immense help,".

https://twitter.com/ElGounaFilm/status/1448251255227301890?s=20

Social media users shared online photos of the structure engulfed in flames.

https://twitter.com/MayRostom/status/1448228124550909952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1448228124550909952%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arabnews.com%2Fnode%2F1947196%2Flifestyle

For five years running, GFF has been paving the road to all keen filmmakers, aspiring young talents, and enthusiastic cinephiles that may partake in its culture of nurturing dreams and turning visions into reality.

The festival began as a project of passion for art, culture, and most importantly filmmaking. Each edition has become a personal milestone for filmmakers across the region.

This year, GFF is celebrating its milestone by carrying on with its commitment to foster communication between culture and filmmaking.

The festival is taking inspiration from its surroundings between architecture and nature, and honoring telling human stories with filmmakers from all around the world.