EL GOUNA FILM FESTIVAL CALLS FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 6TH EDITION OF CINEGOUNA PLATFORM

El Gouna April 4, 2023: El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) is pleased to announce the Call for Entries for the 6th edition of CineGouna Platform, which is scheduled to take place from October 14-19, 2023, in the resort town of El Gouna. The deadline for receipt of submissions is July 15, 2023, for projects in development and August 1, 2023, for films in post-production.
The entry form and complete information regarding eligibility for submission can be found on the festival’s website: www.elgounafilmfestival.com

During its 5th edition, CineGouna Platform selected 12 projects in development and 6 films in post-production based on their content, artistic vision, and overall financial feasibility. These projects presented by GFF along with its partners and sponsors, were eligible for various awards totalling US $300,000. 

The CineGouna SpringBoard jury included Lebanese producer and film critic Mohamed Soueid, former CEO of the National Film Development Corporation (India) Nina Lath Gupta, and Moroccan director and screenwriter Ismaël Ferroukhi.

A Quarter to Thursday in Algiers (France) by Sofia Djama won the Best Project in Development award, while They Planted Strange Trees (Palestine) by Hind Shoufani won the Best Film in Post-Production award. Other winners included; Fifty Meters (Egypt) by Yomna Khattab, Haysh Maysh: False Drama (Morocco) by Hicham Lasri, Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore (Egypt) by Morad Mostafa, Women of My Life (Iraq, Switzerland) by Zahraa Ghandour, Searching for Woody (Egypt) by Sara Shazli, A Song for Summer and Winter aka Under the Sky of Damascus (Syria, Denmark, Germany, United States) by Talal Derki,  Heba Khaled and Ali Wajeeh, Hanging Gardens (Iraq, United Kingdom, Palestine) by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji, Hyphen (Lebanon) by Reine Razzouk, Happy Lovers (France, Morocco) by Hicham Lasri, and SINK (Jordan, Sweden, Canada, France) by Zain Duraie. 

Since its inception, a large number of  CineGouna Platform alumni have made their mark regionally and internationally by winning acclaim and awards at prestigious international film festivals. Abu Bakr Shawky’s Yomeddine was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and won the François Chalais Prize. Ayten Amin's Souad was selected at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and Berlinale 2021, The Day I Lost My Shadow by Soudade Kaadan won the Lion of the Future at the 2018 Biennale, Ali El Arabi’s Captains of Zaatari had its World premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Other highly acclaimed films by CGP alumni include Daughters of Abdulrahman by Zaid Abu Hamdan, Jordan - the film had its world premiere in the International Competition of the Cairo IFF, where it won the Audience Award. It was also the official Jordanian submission to the Academy Awards; La vie me va bien by Al Hadi Ulad Mohand, Morocco screened at the 2021 Red Sea IFF; STREAMS by Mehdi Hmili, Tunisia,  screened at many international festivals, including Locarno and Zurich. Under The Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri, Tunisia, had a highly successful film festival run including Directors' Fortnight, Cannes; Toronto, Munich, Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, Sarajevo, BFI, Bogota, Festival Do Rio, Chicago, Viennale, Thessaloniki, Singapore, Carthage, and Marrakech.

Among the projects that attracted further attention are director Ahmed Fawzi-Saleh’s Hamlet From The Slums and Ali Al-Fatlawi’s The Blind Ferryman - Al Baseer that were both selected among 16 projects for the 2022 L’Atelier co-production Forum during the 75th Cannes Film Festival. In addition, Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore was selected among seven feature fiction film projects to participate in the pitching sessions of the co-production forum, Dot.on.the.Map Meeting Point during the 20th Cyprus Film Days International Festival. The film was also selected for the Red Sea Lodge mentoring program in collaboration with the Torino Film Lab. 

The 6th edition of GFF is scheduled to take place from October 13 to 20, 2023 in the resort town of El Gouna,  known not only for its beauty and progressiveness but also for its strong support of the arts and creativity.

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 CineGouna Platform, an industry-oriented event created to 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.