El Gouna, Egypt – Sep. 27, 2026

El Gouna Film Festival’s CineGouna Emerge is proud to announce the launch of its Meet the Experts podcast,  which includes insights and discussions from GFF’s CineGouna Emerge Meet the Expert sessions during its 8th edition. The program is supported by GFF’s Impact Partner, the Sawiris Foundation, and DROSOS Foundation.

The podcast will be available on streaming platforms including, but not limited to, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

“Every edition, CineGouna Emerge receives around 1000 applications from young creatives hoping to take part in the program,” says Hayat Aljowaily, Director of CineGouna Emerge. “Our podcast was created to expand the reach beyond just those who were selected last year. The content will give more people the opportunity to benefit from the wealth of knowledge our experts share.”

The sentiment was echoed by Andrew Mohsen, El Gouna Film Festival’s Artistic Director.

“We have always believed that young creatives from Egypt, the Middle East and Africa need tools to help nurture their talents and give them a sense of community,” says GFF’s Andrew Mohsen, Artistic Director of El Gouna Film Festival. “This was the main driver behind the growth of CineGouna Emerge, and the podcast is one way for us to expand this experience beyond the duration of the festival. Not only does it give those who didn’t have the opportunity to attend last year the chance to benefit from our participating experts, but it also allows a wealth of knowledge to be passed on from one generation of filmmakers to the next.”

The episodes, 30 in total, include episodes with Egyptian Director Karim El Shennawy and actress Amina Khalil, Actor Sedky Sakhr, Producer and Programmer Muhamed Taymour, The Party Film Festival Manager Théo Lionel, Soleil Gharbieh, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture Film Program Manager, Tunisian Director & CineGouna Rising Star Amel Guellaty, Acting Coach Luke Lehner, French Programmer Céline Roustan, and more.

“Beyond the efforts to give attendees access to a diverse film experience, El Gouna Film Festival has always focused on supporting the growth of this industry as a whole through a large number of activities designed to facilitate dialogue and expand experiences of those who participate in the festival to include personable interactions with industry leaders from a wide cross-section of the sector,” says Amr Mansi, El Gouna Film Festival Co-Founder and Executive Director. “This mission is particularly important when it comes to focusing on rising talent in-front of and behind the camera since it gives them the ability to listen to individuals who have been in the industry for a long time share their stories in their own words.”

The CineGouna Emerge program was launched in 2023, and will be held for its fourth edition during the 9th Edition of El Gouna Film Festival in October 2026. The CineGouna Emerge program is supported by GFF’s Impact Partner, the Sawiris Foundation, the European Union in Egypt, and DROSOS Foundation.

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Full List of Podcast Participants:

Andrew Mohsen — Artistic Director, El Gouna Film Festival

Muhammad Taymour — Short Films Programmer, GFF, Producer

Thuraya Ismail — CEO, Mentor Arabia

Ahmed Amer — Writer-Director-Producer; founder, A.A. Films

Sameh Alaa — Director; CineGouna Rising Star 2025, won the 2020 Cannes Palme d'Or (Short) for I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face

Karim El Shenawy — Egyptian director

Amel Guellaty — Tunisian director, CineGouna Rising Star 2025

Yomna Khattab — Director of doc feature 50 Meters, CineGouna Rising Star 2025

Zena Abdelbaky — Egyptian filmmaker/director

Kaja Grujic — Multimedia Storyteller & Journalist

Abdallah Dnewar — Egyptian filmmaker/producer (My Brother, My Brother)

Ahmed Magdy — Egyptian actor and director

Magdalene Reddy — Director, Durban FilmMart Institute

Théo Lionel — Festival/Sales Manager, The Party Film Sales

Arianna Castoldi — Former Head of Documentary Sales, Mediawan Rights

Yanis Gaye — Producer, founder of Gorée Cinema & Strange Fruit Production House

Soleil Gharbieh — Program Manager, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC)

Joanna (Jo) Duncombe — Film/cultural relations consultant, BFI

Mina Samy — Egyptian composer

Ahmed Sabbour — Egyptian Sound designer

Reem El Adl — Egyptian Costume designer

Luke Lehner — Founder, Luke Lehner Studios

Sedky Sakhr — Egyptian Actor/musician

Amina Khalil — Egyptian actress

Tarek Ibrahim, Egyptian DOP

Yasser Naeem, Egyptian screenwriter

Nada Bakr, Director of NAAS (Network of Arab Alternative Screens)

Yassine Harris, Senior Editor at Mille World

Amed Taeama, CEO of Arabia Pictures

Mohamed Bassiouny, Co-Founder / Managing Director at Tayarah

Mohamed Mashish, Producer

Daniel Victor, Photographer

Marianne Khoury, producer, filmmaker

Yomna Khattam, Program Manager, Drosos FOundation

Ahmed Nabil, Program Manager, Dahshur Creative Talent Market

Sami Creta, Creative Economy Lead-British Council