The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF; ar, مهرجان الجونة السينمائي) is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

established in 2017, held in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

resort town of

El Gouna El Gouna ( ar, الجونة ' , "the Lagoon") is an Egyptian tourist city, owned and developed by Samih Sawiris' Orascom Development, dating from 1989. It is located on the Red Sea in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt, north of Hurghada. It is p ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. The inaugural festival started September 22, 2017. The psychological thriller ''

Scary Mother Scary Mother (also styled as Scarymother) were an Australian rock band. They were formed in 1990. Anthony Brown on lead guitar, Tim Burcham on drums, Andrew Gillespie on lead vocals and Toby (Tobias) Messiter (ex-Wildland) on keyboards. They r ...

'', by Georgian first-time director Ana Urushadze, took the Golden Star, the festival's top feature film competition prize. Oscar-winning actor-director

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...

was feted with a lifetime achievement award.

Awards

Feature Narrative Competition

* El Gouna Gold Star for a Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 50,000) * El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 25,000) * El Gouna Bronze Star Narrative Film (Certificate, Trophy and USD 15,000) * El Gouna Star for Best Arab Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 20,000) * El Gouna Star for Best Actor (Trophy and Certificate) * El Gouna Star for Best Actress (Trophy and Certificate)

Feature Documentary Competition

* El Gouna Gold Star for a Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 30,000) * El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 15,000) * El Gouna Bronze Star Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 7,500) * El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 10,000)

2017 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: ''

'', Ana Urushadze Silver Star: ''The Insult'', Ziad Dower Bronze Star: ''

Arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

'',

Boris Khlebnikov Boris Igorevich Khlebnikov (, born August 28, 1972) - is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. Filmography As director * ''Roads to Koktebel'' (2003) * '' Free Floating'' (2006) * ''Help Gone Mad'' (2009) * '' Crush'' (2009) * '' ...

Golden Star for Best Arabic Feature Film: ''Photocopy'', Tamer Ashry Best Actress:

Nadia Kounda Nadia Kounda (born 24 October 1989) is a Moroccan film actress. Career Nadia Kounda was born in Casablanca, Morocco. She began her career in film and television in 2008, in Morocco. In 2011, she played the leading role in the film ', achieving ...

, ''Volubilis'' Best Actor: Daniel Gimenez Cacho, '' Zama'' Cinema For Humanity Audience Award: ''

Soufra Soufra (also known as Soufra Kitchen) is a non-governmental catering company founded by Mariam Shaar in the refugee camp in Bourj el Barajneh in Beirut, Lebanon. It employs women in the camp where they attempt to revive traditional Palestinian dish ...

'', Thomas Morgan

Documentary competition

Golden Star: ''

I Am Not Your Negro ''I Am Not Your Negro'' is a 2016 documentary film and social critique film essay directed by Raoul Peck, based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript '' Remember This House''. Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the film explores the hist ...

'',

Raoul Peck Raoul Peck (born 9 September 1953 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a Haitian filmmaker, of both documentary and feature films. He is known for using historical, political, and personal characters to tackle and recount societal issues and historical ...

Silver Star: ''Brimstone and Glory'', Viktor Jakovleski Bronze Star: '' Mrs Fang'', Wang Bing Golden Star For Best Arabic Documentary: ''I Have a Picture'', Mohamed Zedan

Short Film competition

Golden Star: ''

Nightshade The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orna ...

'', Shady El-Hamus Silver Star: ''

Merry-Go-Round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

'', Ruslan Bratov Bronze Star: '' Mama Bobo'', Robin Andelfinger and Ibrahima Seydi El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: ''

Punchline A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...

'', Christophe M. Saber

2018 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: ''

A Land Imagined ''A Land Imagined'' () is a 2018 neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Yeo Siew Hua. A Singapore-France-Netherlands co-production, the film tells the story of a police investigator who uncovers the truth behind the disappearance ...

'',

Yeo Siew Hua Yeo Siew Hua (born 1 April 1985) is a Singaporean director, screenwriter and visual artist. Life and career Graduating among the top of his cohort in Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Media Studies, Yeo went on to study philosophy at the Natio ...

Silver Star: ''

Ray & Liz ''Ray & Liz'' is a 2018 British drama film written and directed by Richard Billingham in his feature debut. The film retells Billingham's troubled childhood growing up in a Black Country council flat during the Thatcher era. It focuses "on his p ...

'',

Richard Billingham Richard Billingham (born 25 September 1970) is an English photographer and artist, film maker and art teacher. His work has mostly concerned his family, the place he grew up in the West Midlands, but also landscapes elsewhere. Billingham is bes ...

Bronze Star: '' The Heiresses'',

Marcelo Martinessi Marcelo Martinessi is a Paraguayan filmmaker. His films include "Karai norte" (2009), "The Lost Voice" (2016), and ''The Heiresses'' ( es, Las herederas), the latter being selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 68th Berlin International F ...

El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: '' Yomeddine'', A.B. Shawky Special Mention: ''

The Man Who Surprised Everyone The Man Who Surprised Everyone (russian: Человек, который удивил всех, Chelovek, kotoryj udivil vsekh) is a Russian film-drama directed by Aleksey Chupov and Natasha Merkulova, shot according to their own script in 2018. M ...

'', Natasha Merkulova and

Aleksey Chupov Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin Ale ...

Best Actress:

Joanna Kulig Joanna Kulig (; born 24 June 1982) is a Polish actress and singer, best known for her role in the 2018 historical drama film ''Cold War'', which earned her the European Film Award for Best Actress. Her other notable credits include the films '' ...

, ''

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

'' Best Actor: Mohamed Dhrif, '' Dear Son'' Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Another Day Of Life; '' Raúl De La Fuente, Damian Nenow'' and '' Yomeddine'', A.B. Shawky (joint winners)

Feature Documentary competition

Golden Star: '' Aquarela'',

Victor Kossakovsky Viktor Kossakovsky (russian: Виктор Косаковский; born 19 July 1961) is a Russian documentary filmmaker. Early life Kossakovsky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the time Leningrad, U.S.S.R. He began his film career in ...

Silver Star: ''

Of Fathers and Sons ''Of Fathers and Sons'' ( ''ʿan al-ʾābāʾ wal-ʾabnāʾ'') is a 2017 Arabic, Arabic-language Germany, German-Syrian documentary film directed by Talal Derki about radical jihadism and terrorist training in Syrian Civil War, Syria. Synopsis U ...

'',

Talal Derki Talal Derki (Arabic language, Arabic: طلال ديركي ''Ṭālāl Dīrkī'') is a Syrian Kurdish director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Damascus and of Kurdish descent, Derki studied film directing in Athens at , graduation in 2003. He wo ...

Bronze Star: '' The Swing'', Cyril Aris El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: ''

'',

Short Film competition

Golden Star: '' Our Song To War'', Juanita Onzaga Silver Star: ''

Judgement Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

'', Raymund Ribay Gutierrez Bronze Star: '' Sheikh's Watermelons'',

Kaouther Ben Hania Kaouther Ben Hania ( ar , كوثر بن هنية; born 1977) is a Tunisian film director. '' Beauty and the Dogs'' (2017), her best-known film, was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. He ...

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: ''

EyeBrows An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, communication through facial expression, and second, prevent ...

'', Tamer Ashry

2019 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: ''

You Will Die at Twenty ''You Will Die at Twenty'' () is a 2019 Sudanese drama film directed by Amjad Abu Alala. Selected as the Sudanese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, it was not nominated. It was the first film from Sudan ...

'',

Amjad Abu Alala Amjad Abu Alala (, born in Dubai) is a Sudanese film director and screenwriter, who was born and lives in the United Arab Emirates. He became internationally known for his first feature film '' You Will Die at Twenty'' in 2019. This film was the fi ...

Silver Star: '' Corpus Christi'',

Jan Komasa Jan Tadeusz Komasa (born October 28, 1981) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for directing '' Suicide Room'' (2011), '' Warsaw 44'' (2014), and ''Corpus Christi'' (2019), which was nominated for the Best Internatio ...

Bronze Star: ''

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

'',

Maryam Touzani Maryam Touzani (born 17 September 1980) is a Moroccan filmmaker and actress. She is best known as the director of the critically acclaimed film ''Adam (2019)'', Morocco's entry for the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, an ...

El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: ''

Papicha ''Papicha'' is a 2019 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Mounia Meddour. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It was selected as the Algerian entry for the Best International Feature ...

'',

Mounia Meddour Mounia Meddour (born 15 May 1978) is a Franco-Algerian film director. Biography Meddour's father is the Algerian director Azzedine Meddour and her mother comes from Russia. She studied in a journalism school, then trained in cinema and audiovi ...

Best Actress:

Hend Sabry Hend Sabry ( ar, هند صبري, born 20 November 1979) is a Tunisian people, Tunisian Egyptians, Egyptian actress working in Cinema of Egypt, Egypt. Career Sabry starred as "'Ola" in the Egyptian Television Network, Egyptian television drama ...

, '' Noura's Dream'' Best Actor:

Bartosz Bielenia Bartosz Bielenia (born 15 May 1992) is a Polish film and stage actor. Education In 2016, Bielenia graduated from AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków. Career He made his debut in 1999 at the Aleksander Wegierko Dramatic Theat ...

, '' Corpus Christi'' Cinema for Humanity Audience Award:

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

, ''

Ladj Ly Ladj Ly (; born 19 March 1980 in Paris) is a French film director and screenwriter. He won a Jury Prize in Cannes Film Festival for ''Les Misérables'' in 2019. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Biography Ly's ...

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Award: ''

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

'', Oualid Mouaness

Feature Documentary competition

Golden Star: '' Talking About Trees'',

Suhaib Gasmelbari Suhaib Gasmelbari (born 17 December 1979, Omdurman, Sudan) is a Sudanese film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. Biography Gasmelbari was born in Omdurman, Sudan in December 1979. He lived parts of his early childhood in Russia before ...

Silver Star: '' 143 Sahara Street'', Hassen Ferhani Bronze Star: '' Kabul, City in the Wind'', Aboozar Amini El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: '' Ibrahim: A Fate to Define'', Lina Alabed

NETPAC The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the ins ...

Award for Best Asian Film: '' Kabul, City in the Wind'', Aboozar Amini

Short Film competition

Golden Star: ''

Exam An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

'', Sonia K. Haddad Silver Star: ''

Ome Ome may refer to: Places * Ome (Bora Bora), a public island in the lagoon of Bora Bora * Ome, Lombardy, Italy, a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia * Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo * Ome (crater), a crater on Mars Tran ...

'', Wassim Geagea Bronze Star: ''

Flesh Flesh is any aggregation of soft tissues of an organism. Various multicellular organisms have soft tissues that may be called "flesh". In mammals, including humans, ''flesh'' encompasses muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as mu ...

'', Camila Kater El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: '' Give Up the Ghost'', Zain Duraie Special Jury Mention: ''

16 December Events Pre-1600 * 714 – Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. * 75 ...

'', Álvaro Gago Díaz

2021 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: '' The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic'',

Teemu Nikki Teemu is a Finnish male given name. Notable people with the name include: *Teemu Aalto (born 1978), Finnish professional ice hockey player * Teemu Eronen (born 1990), professional ice hockey defenceman *Teemu Hartikainen (born 1990), Finnish profe ...

Silver Star: '' Sun Down'',

Michel Franco Michel Franco (born 28 August 1979) is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his film '' After Lucia'' that won the Prize Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. His films typically deal with the ...

Bronze Star: '' Captain Volkongov Escaped'',

, Natasha Merkulova El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: ''

Feathers Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier e ...

'', '' Omar El Zohairy'' Best Actress: Petri Poikolainen, ''Playground'' Best Actor: Perri Poikonainen, '' The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic'' Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Ostrove: Lost Island, '' Svetlana Rodina'', '' Laurent Stoop''

Award: ''

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast o ...

'', Mounia Akl

Feature Documentary competition

Golden Star: '' Life of Ivana'', Renato Borrayo Serrano Silver Star: '' Ostrov - Lost Island'', '' Svetlana Rodina'', '' Laurent Stoop'' Bronze Star: '' Sabaya'', Hogir Hirori El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: '' Captains of Za’atari'', Ali El Arabi

Award for Best Asian Film: '' Captain Volkongov Escaped'', ''

'', '' Natasha Merkulova''

Short Film competition

Golden Star: ''Katia'', Andrey Natotcinskiy Silver Star: ''

Holy Son Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

'', Aliosha Massine Bronze Star: ''

On Solid Ground ''On Solid Ground'' is an album by the American musician Larry Carlton, released in 1989. The album features keyboardists Terry Trotter and Alan Pasqua, and saxophonist Kirk Whalum. Carlton was shot in the neck while working on the album, delaying ...

'', Jela Hasler El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: '' Cai-Ber'', Ahmed Abdelsalam Special Mention: actress Aisha Al Rifae for '' Nour Shams'' directed by

Faiza Ambah Faiza Saleh Ambah is a Saudi Arabian film writer-director and former journalist for ''The Washington Post''. She is also noted as having been one of the first female Saudi journalists.Abeer Mishkhas.The Quiet Revolution: Women at Arab News. ''Ar ...

Side events

Pitching Session: CinemaTech by Gemini Africa Gemini Africa is an

Ian company extending into

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

for tech startups in an entrepreneurial pitching event under Cinematech’s track. CinemaTech is the first entrepreneurial track bridging the gap between entrepreneurship and filmmaking, with the aim of uplifting the industry by injecting technological solutions offered by startups.

References

{{Reflist

External links

official website
Film festivals in Egypt 2017 establishments in Egypt Film festivals established in 2017