El Gouna – September 13, 2017 — The management of the CineGouna Springboard, a main part of the Gouna Film Festival—taking place September 22–29—has announced the names of its selected film projects.

More than 50 projects were submitted to the springboard, and the selection committee chose the winning names based on a specific set of criteria, including unique artistic vision and fresh cinematic language, in addition to seriousness of the presented projects and how that reflects on its feasibility.

The springboard gives Arab directors and producers with projects in development or in post-production the chance to win technical or financial support, or both. During the CineGouna Springboard, directors and producers of films in development with film professionals who help them in the process of writing and finding co-production opportunities, while films in post-production get feedback on their projects and meet with potential partners, funders, festivals, and co-producers. The projects are picked by a Gouna Film Festival selection committee, and an international jury made up of leading experts in the field is put together to award the best projects in development.

The selection committee noted that it was not an easy process, since so many of the submitted projects were of remarkable quality. However, the committee had to choose only 12 films in development in addition to four films in post-production. The CineGouna Platform selection committee chose a set of diverse projects, with 32 directors and producers from eight Arab countries: Lebanon, Tunisia, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. The springboard will offer the filmmakers and producers several sessions to discuss their projects with a number of film professionals, funding institutions and producers, paving the way for many opportunities to present their projects and make the best of the presence of this large number of guests in the festival. Moreover, CineGouna Platform will be granting a number of the selected projects cash awards that exceed $50,000 in total.

The following films in development were picked by the selection committee:

200 Meters, Amin Nayfeh, Palestine
The Balcony of Paradise, Amr Abdel Hadi, Jordan
The House of Silence, Karim Traïdia, Algeria
Backstage, Afef Ben Mahmoud, Tunisia / Morocco
Costa Brava, Mounia Akl, Lebanon
Five Days of Grace, Saleh Nas, Bahrain
Noura in Wonderland, Hinde Boujemaa, Tunisia

As for Egyptians projects selected, they are as follows:

Abu Zaabal 1989, Bassam Mortada
Transit, Islam Kamal
Two Rooms and a Parlor, Sherif El Bendary
The Seventh Day Butterfly, Karim Hanafy
The Last Rescue, Tamer Ezzat

The films in post-production selected are:

Counting Tiles, Cynthia Shair, Lebanon

And from Egypt:

Hammam Sokhn (Hot Bath), Manal Khaled
In Search of Essam Abdallah, Yasser Naeem
Yomeddine, Abu Bakr Shawki

CineGouna Springboard will present awards to six projects in development, to be chosen by a jury comprised of a collection of Arab and international film experts, the biggest of which is a $20,000 cash award presented by the festival as a production grant for the best film in development. As for the rest of the awards, they are given in support by a number of our partners:

-$10,000 from New Century Production
-$10,000 from Creative Media Ventures “Ebda3”
-$5,000 from Mentor Arabia
-$5,000 from Film Factory
-$10,000 from AROMA Studios ($5,000 for a film in development, and $5,000 worth of post-production services)

CineGouna Springboard aims at providing young filmmakers with the solid support that they need, and hopes to become one of the main pillars in the local and regional film industry. CineGouna Platform is therefore very grateful for all partners and supporters who have shown enthusiasm for the same goal of empowering fresh talents and helping them realize their projects.