Egypt’s El Gouna Festival Postponed in Possible Precursor to Permanent Axing
variety.comNick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEgypt’s El Gouna Film Festival is being put on hiatus this year after five successful editions in what could be a precursor to the event being permanently scrapped or radically reshaped.In a statement, fest organizers said “a decision was made to postpone the festival” which was scheduled to run Oct.
13-22 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort.As for the reason, the nebulous statement, posted to social media, said the fest — which is now in its 6th edition — is being postponed “in view of the vital role” it’s played “in the art and tourism sectors, both locally and internationally,” which is now being re-thought “in view of current global challenges.”Competition between Arab film fests has been increasingly fierce with the deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival in Saudi Arabia joining the fray last year, alongside the Cairo and Marrakech fests.
These events are all slotted in the year’s fourth quarter when the climate across the region is more favorable. Further complicating matters is Egypt’s current economic crisis, which is likely to impact sponsors willing to invest in the El Gouna fest.
In addition, there’s the country’s depressed real estate market which is known to have been among the reasons the event was initially set up.
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