El Gouna – September 5, 2017 — In appreciation of his rich and extensive cinematic repertoire and undisputed status as one of the most prominent actors in the history of Arab cinema, in addition to his consistent humanitarian contributions to society, El Gouna Film Festival is giving its Career Achievement Award to film star Adel Imam— widely known as the “King of Comedy”—during its first edition, set to take place 22–29 September.

“Our slogan this edition is ‘Cinema for Humanity,’ and our aim is to employ cinema to promote humanitarian values and bring them back to our society,” says GFF founder Engineer Naguib Sawiris. “Adel Imam has brought joy to this nation and drawn smiles on many faces, and he has always been a defender of our unity against extremism and terrorism, and this is why we are paying tribute to him.”

“Having Adel Imam in the opening and giving him the Career Achievement Award is a great way to kick off our first edition. We’re pleased that our opening ceremony will offer audiences a chance to meet this big, influential star and celebrate his phenomenal acting career,” says Amr Mansi, GFF co-founder and CEO of the organizing company of GFF. “He has been one of the leading comedic talents in this part of the world for nearly fifty years, which speaks volumes of his unique capability as an actor, especially in works of satirical commentary that portray people’s problems and concerns with a great deal of honesty.”

“Paying homage to Adel Imam in GFF is a celebration of an inspiring and profoundly influential type of cinema, which is completely in line with our criteria for selecting film icons to honour from within the Arab film industry, of which Egyptian cinema is the strongest and most effective component,” says Festival Director Intishal Al Timimi. “Imam’s pleasure at being selected to receive this award has definitely given us a boost, making us even more excited about the festival.”

Adel Imam has worked on more than 100 films that have left their mark on the region’s film audiences and cinematic history. They include:

We Are the Bus People (1979)
Mothers in Exile (1981)
The Suspect (1981)
Love in the Cell (1983)
The Street Player (1983)
The Ghoul (1983)
The Avvocato (1984)
So the Smoke Won’t Fly (1984)
Playing with the Giants (1991)
Terrorism and Barbeque (1993)
The Terrorist (1994)
Birds of Darkness (1995)
Sleeping in Honey (1996)
The Yacoubian Building (2006)
Hassan and Marcus (2008)
Alzheimer’s (2010)

Adel Imam has received a multitude of awards from international film festivals, including:

Best Actor - Cairo International Film Festival for The Terrorist, 1995
Lifetime Achievement Award - ‘In the Spotlight’, Dubai International Film Festival, 2005
Best Actor in a Narrative Feature - Tribeca Film Festival for The Yacoubian Building, 2006
International Jury Award for Best Actor - São Paulo International Film Festival for The Yacoubian Building, 2007
Best Actor - Cairo International Film Festival for The Yacoubian Building, 2007
Variety Achievement in Film Award - Middle East International Film Festival, 2008
Golden Star - Marrakech International Film Festival, 2014
Golden Tanit - Carthage Film Festival, 2016