The award aims to commemorate the late Khaled Bichara’s legacy to support and empower innovative thinkers

El Gouna, August 24, 2021:  El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) is now accepting submissions of short narrative and documentary projects in development, as well as shorts in post-production for the Khaled Bichara Award for Egyptian Independent Filmmakers. The award is open exclusively to Egyptian filmmakers, with preference for those based in Egypt. Films must be at most 30 minutes long, and must be the director’s first or second film. Submission form as well as the Rules and Regulations can be found on the festival’s official website. The application must be submitted by September 12, 2021.

A tribute to the free thinkers who never shied away from challenges in pursuit of their dreams against all odds; the Khaled Bichara Award for Egyptian Independent Filmmakers aims to commemorate the legacy of the late Khaled Bichara, former CEO of Orascom Development Holding and its subsidiary Orascom Development Egypt, to encourage and recognize unheralded talent. The award offers emerging Egyptian filmmakers a platform and an opportunity to demonstrate their film making abilities and craft and a cash grant of US $10,000.

During the 4^th edition of GFF, Engineer Samih Sawiris inaugurated the award in honor of the late CEO of Orascom Development Holding, Khaled Bichara, who was renowned for his spirit of innovation and unconventional creativity. The Bichara family said, “We are honored to see Khaled's legacy of supporting entrepreneurs and innovation live on through his award.  We are looking for promising Egyptian projects that embody the spirit of creativity and out of the box thinking that Khaled passionately backed and bet on.”

Commenting on the award, Artistic Director Amir Ramses said, “While we continue to mourn the loss of one of the country’s foremost entrepreneurs and creative thinkers, last year’s inaugural award to Hamlet from the Slums by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh was our gate to further support extraordinary talents. We hope that this year, many young Egyptian filmmakers will take this opportunity to gain the kind of recognition to launch their career.”

The 5^th edition of GFF is set to take place October 14 - 22, 2021 while the activities of CineGouna Platform will take place October 16 - 21, 2021 in the resort town of El Gouna.

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 arm, CineGouna Platform.

Khaled Bichara

Born 1971, Khaled Bichara was the Chief Executive Officer of Orascom Development Holding and its largest Egyptian subsidiary Orascom Development Egypt. He is also a Co-founder of Accelero Capital. Mr Bichara previously served as Group President and Chief Operating Officer of VimpelCom Ltd 'VimpelCom'. Mr Bichara was appointed Chief Executive Officer of OTH and Wind Telecom, bringing with him a wealth of experience in both telecommunication and information technology coupled with strong management and entrepreneurial expertise. He was also the Co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of LINKdotNET LDN, the largest private Internet Service Provider ISP in the Middle East.