The wait is over! Egypt, El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) is back with a bang after a year-long break. The festival’s website and social media accounts announced on Wednesday, 22 February that the sixth edition of GFF will take place from 13 to 20 October 2023. Don’t miss it!
The announcement was a welcome surprise for many film lovers who had feared that GFF might not return after last year’s cancellation. The fifth edition of GFF had been plagued by several unfortunate events and scandals that had tarnished its reputation.
The festival announced in July 2022 that it would delay its sixth edition because of “current global challenges” and a “need to develop a comprehensive strategy that would meet the high expectations of the festival as a leading platform for film, art, and culture.”
According to Variety Magazine, the festival was canceled because of many factors: too many Arab film festivals in the last quarter of the year, Egypt’s economic troubles, and instability in the real estate market. and less tourism in the Red Sea due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
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The international film festival started in 2017 and has hosted five editions in El Gouna, a Red Sea Resort. Many industry professionals from the region and beyond have attended the festival, The festival has become an important regional event and has been recognized for its support of new Egyptian and Arab work through its CineGouna Platform.
The festival’s director since its inception, Iraqi actor and film programmer Intishal Al Timimi will lead this year’s edition. Samih Sawiris, who founded El Gouna, will continue to sponsor the festival with the help of his brother and fellow business tycoon, Naguib Sawiris.
The festival co-founder and entrepreneur Amr Mansi has taken over as the Executive Director of GFF from Amal El Masri, who was in charge of the festival’s fourth and fifth editions.
The festival management said today that the one-year break helped it to “improve the artistic and organizational aspects of the festival and to strengthen the role GFF has played in supporting the film industry regionally and internationally.”
The statement also repeated the festival’s promise to offer its “delegates, guests and participants a fruitful experience which will increase and enhance its role as a driving force for the growth of the industry in the region.”
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