Among the activities of the seventh day of GFF, CineGouna Platform held its closing ceremony at El Gouna Conference and Culture Center, where the committee for projects and films announced the awards for the 5th edition of CineGouna Platform. 

This year, CGP has 20 cinematic projects, of which 13 are projects in development and 6 films in post-production in addition to one guest film in post-production. CGP's awards amount up to US $300,000. 

Participating directors and producers in CineGouna SpringBoard presented their films to producers, organizations, distributors, and festival programmers to get their artistic guidance. In addition to that, one-on-one meetings between filmmakers and industry experts, and consultants to develop scripts and incomplete films as well as increase chances for international and regional collaborations. 

The CineGouna SpringBoard jury included Lebanese producer and film critic Mohamed Soueid, former CEO of the NFDC from 2006 until 2018 Nina Lath Gupta, and Moroccan director and screenwriter Ismaël Ferroukhi.

The jury praised the selected film and its filmmakers in its final statement, stating that the quality of the films made choosing the winners but a difficult but nonetheless rewarding task. Additionally, the jury gave a special mention to Abo Zabaal 1989 (Egypt) by Bassam Mortada for its ability to create a home for memories and surpassing the filmmaker's own understanding of his life's events, which were portrayed from the perspectives of his parents. 

A Quarter to Thursday in Algiers (France) by Sofia Djama won the Best Project in Development award, which amounts to a cash prize of US $15,000 and a CineGouna Platform certificate, and US $2,000 worth of in kind services from Clackett, while They Planted Strange Trees (Palestine) by Hind Shoufani won the Best Film in Post-Production award, which amounted to a CineGouna Platform certificate and a cash prize of US $15,000 and The Indie Deer’s cash grant of US $10,000.

Moreover, the winning projects and films of the cash grants and awards given by CineGouna Platform’s sponsors were announced:

Fifty Meters (Egypt) by Yomna Khattab won a US $10,000 full film promotion package from The Cell Post Production, a US $10,000 cash grant from Trend VFX, US $10,000 from Synergy Films, US $15,000 cash grant for script development from Mariam Naoum and Sard Writing Room, US $5,000 worth of post-production services from BEE Media Productions, and US $10,000 from Cult, US $1,000 for locations services from Clackett, and a US $7,000 Master's Degree US scholarship from Gemini Africa. This project also won a chance from Arab Cinema Center to participate in Rotterdam Film Lab.

Haysh Maysh: False Drama (Morocco) by Hicham Lasri won US $30,000 as a minimum guarantee on film distribution from MAD Solutions and Ergo Media Ventures as well as a US $5,000 cash grant from Malmö Arab Film Festival.

Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore (Egypt) by Morad Mostafa won a US $5,000 cash grant from Gemini Africa as well as EGP 50,000 from The Cell Post Production and was selected for IEFTA’s Global Film Expression initiative. 

Women of My Life (Iraq, Switzerland) by Zahraa Ghandour won a US $10,000 cash grant from Maqam Production Films and was also selected for IEFTA’s Global Film Expression initiative. 

Searching for Woody (Egypt) by Sara Shazli won a US $5,000 cash grant from BEE Media Productions in addition to US $2000 worth of services from Clackett. 

The US $50,000 cash grant per sale from OSN prize went to A Song for Summer and Winter (Syria, Denmark, Germany, United States) by Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh. The film also won US $10,000 worth of a full DCP package from The Cell Post Production.

Hanging Gardens (Iraq, United Kingdom, Palestine) by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji won a US $30,000 worth of services and color-grading package from Mercury Visual Solutions, while Hyphen (Lebanon) by Reine Razzouk won a US $10,000 cash grant from Clackett. 

Happy Lovers (France, Morocco) by Hicham Lasri won a US $10,000 cash grant from Rotana, while Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) gave its US $10,000 cash grant to SINK (Jordan, Sweden, Canada, France) by Zain Duraie. 

My Father’s Scent (Egypt) by Mohamed Siam won a US $10,000 cash grant from New Black, while The Blind Ferryman - Al Baseer (Iraq, Switzerland) by Ali Al-Fatlawi won US $5,000 worth of post-production services by Hecat Studio.

CineGouna Platform

CineGouna Platform is an industry-oriented event created to support and empower Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. CineGouna Platform presents the CineGouna SpringBoard and the CineGouna Bridge programs that provide opportunities for sharing and learning.