El Gouna Film Festival Kicks Off Its 5th Edition’s First Day

Fri Oct 15, 2021

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Today, October 15, 2021, the first day of El Gouna Film Festival’s (GFF) 5th edition commenced at 12:00 p.m. with a press conference held for Egyptian actor Ahmed El Saka after he received GFF’s Career Achievement Award.

Among the special events, a Pitching Session: CinemaTech by Gemini Africa, which was held at 12:00 p.m. at TU Berlin’s Audimax hall. Gemini Africa opened its doors after its successful patented event, which dawned from Egypt and extended into Africa and the Middle East for tech startups to showcase their innovative solutions 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.

Regarding GFF’s film program, it began at 3:00 pm. with the screening of a diverse variety of films participating in GFF’s competitive sections, including the Finnish film The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic by Teemu Nikki, winner of the 2021 Venice International Film Festival’s Audience Award Armani Beauty and a participant in GFF’s Feature Narrative Competition, which will be screened at Sea Cinema 1 at 3:15 p.m.

In addition to that, the Moroccan film Casablanca Beats by Nabil Ayouch, a participant in GFF’s Feature Narrative Competition, was screened. It’s important to note that the film was selected for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and competed for its Palme d’Or.

Regarding the Special Presentation program which commemorated the 25th anniversary of the famed Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski’s death, the 5th edition of GFF is hosting a Retrospective Exhibition displaying the late director’s life and cinematic works, curated by prestigious production designer and art director Onsi Abou Seif.

Screened during the Special Presentation program was the documentary film Krzysztof Kieślowski - I'm So-So, directed by Krzysztof Wierzbicki, which features the life of the famed Polish director as well as his thoughts, life, and films.

The events of El Gouna Film Festival’s second day, held on October 16, 2021.

Tomorrow, GFF’s activities of its 5th edition continue on its second day, with the opening ceremony of CineGouna Platform (CGP), a platform that’s oriented towards filmmaking and was created to upgrade and support Arab filmmakers through helping them find artistic and financial support.

CGP includes two programs, CineGouna SpringBoard and CineGouna Bridge, which provide educational opportunities. The ceremony starts at 9:30 p.m. at El Gouna Conference and Culture Center (GCCC).

Regarding the film lineup of the second day of GFF’s 5th edition, the Egyptian film Captains of Za’atari directed by Ali El Araby, which had its International Premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, will have its MENA Premiere at the 5th edition of GFF as part of its Feature Documentary Competition.

The film’s red carpet is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at El Gouna Conference and Culture Center (GCCC) with the screening beginning at 6:30 p.m.

In regards to the Feature Narrative Competition, the Russian film Captain Volkonogov Escaped, which participated at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival and competed for its Golden Lion award, will be screened at 3:30 p.m. at the Sea Cinema.

The Retrospective Exhibition for Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski’s will continue to run in addition to a Special Presentation screening of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s A Short Film About Killing at 8:30 p.m. at Arena Cinema.

 

El Gouna Film Festival

One of the leading festivals in the MENA region, GFF aims to showcase a wide variety of films for a passionate and knowledgeable audience, while fostering better communication between cultures through the art of filmmaking. Its goal is to connect filmmakers from the region with their international counterparts in the spirit of cooperation and cultural exchange. The festival is committed to the discovery of new voices and strives to be a catalyst for the development of cinema in the Arab world, especially through its industry hub CineGouna Platform.

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