Main Takeaways From El Gouna Film Festival: ‘We Should Be the Ones Saving Ourselves’

variety.com:

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The seventh edition of the El Gouna Film Festival felt like a solid step back into stability following the cancellation of the 2022 edition for a “reset” and the postponement of last year’s edition from October to December due to the war in Gaza.

This year’s fete, which took place between Oct. 24-Nov. 1 in the Egyptian resort town, welcomed keen audiences and key regional and international players as part of market platform CineGouna. “The program was always strong but the media concentrated the coverage on the glamour and red carpet,” artistic director Marianne Khoury tells Variety. “When I joined last year, I wanted to rebalance that a little bit and have the right coverage on all the programs, not just the glitz and glamour.” And that is exactly how the festival felt this year, with filmmakers and industry heads all acutely aware of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, including the war in Palestine currently taking place less than 500 km away.

Panels focused on collaboration and solidarity, with speakers presenting solutions and posing questions regarding the future of Middle Eastern and North African cinema.

Gouna brought back its Window on Palestine program this year, inaugurated in 2023 following the escalating conflicts in the region.