Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival Back After One Year Pause With Diverse Lineup, Hot Arab Projects
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival is back after a one-year hiatus with a rich mix of Arabic and international titles launching into the Middle East and plenty of promising projects from Arab countries set to be unveiled to prospective partners at its CineGouna industry side.
The event launched in 2017 by Egyptian telecom billionaire Naguib Sawiris – whose brother Samih built the El Gouna resort in a swathe of desert near the tourist town of Hurghada 250 miles south of Cairo – was put on pause in 2022 ostensibly due to the country’s economic crisis following five editions during which fest co-founder Amr Mansi and chief Intishal Al Timimi had managed to rapidly put El Gouna on the international festival map while also making it a favourite with the local crowd. “If there is a positive from the fact that we were forced to skip a year it’s that we were sorely missed by Egyptian audiences and also by the Arab and international film communities,” says Al Timimi, who adds: “Now we are back with a better program both in terms of the selection and the festival’s industry side.” Al Timimi has beefed up his team that now comprises widely respected Egyptian producer-director Marianne Khoury in the artistic director’s chair.
Working in tandem, they have assembled a smartly conceived lineup that champions female directors, favours broader geographic diversity – as opposed to a Eurocentric approach when it comes to international titles – and mixes works by name helmers such as Luc Besson’s “Dogman”; Todd Haynes’ “May December”; and Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s “In Our Day” with a robust representation of first works.
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