El Gouna Film Festival
The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF; Egyptian Arabic: مهرجان الجونة السينمائي) is an annual film festival established in 2017, held in the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna, Egypt. Inspired by El Gouna's diverse culture and stunning environment, the El Gouna Film Festival takes place in the heart of the stunningly designed, pioneering cultural centre: the El Gouna Convention and Culture Centre. The inaugural festival started September 22, 2017. The psychological thriller Scary Mother, by Georgian first-time director Ana Urushadze, took the Golden Star, the festival's top feature film competition prize. Oscar-winning actor-director Forest Whitaker was feted with a lifetime achievement award. = El Gouna Gold Star for a Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 50,000) El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 25,000) El Gouna Bronze Star Narrative Film (Certificate, Trophy and USD 15,000) El Gouna Star for Best Arab Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 20,000) El Gouna Star for Best Actor (Trophy and Certificate) El Gouna Star for Best Actress (Trophy and Certificate) = El Gouna Gold Star for a Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 30,000) El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 15,000) El Gouna Bronze Star Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 7,500) El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD 10,000) = Golden Star: Scary Mother, Ana Urushadze Silver Star: The Insult, Ziad Dower Bronze Star: Arrhythmia, Boris Khlebnikov Golden Star for Best Arabic Feature Film: Photocopy, Tamer Ashry Best Actress: Nadia Kounda, Volubilis Best Actor: Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Zama Cinema For Humanity Audience Award: Soufra, Thomas Morgan = Golden Star: I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck Silver Star: Brimstone and Glory, Viktor Jakovleski Bronze Star: Mrs Fang, Wang Bing Golden Star For Best Arabic Documentary: I Have a Picture, Mohamed Zedan = Golden Star: Nightshade, Shady El-Hamus Silver Star: Merry-Go-Round, Ruslan Bratov Bronze Star: Mama Bobo, Robin Andelfinger and Ibrahima Seydi El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: Punchline, Christophe M. Saber = Golden Star: A Land Imagined, Yeo Siew Hua Silver Star: Ray & Liz, Richard Billingham Bronze Star: The Heiresses, Marcelo Martinessi El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: Yomeddine, A.B. Shawky Special Mention: The Man Who Surprised Everyone, Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov Best Actress: Joanna Kulig, Cold War Best Actor: Mohamed Dhrif, Dear Son Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Another Day Of Life; Raúl De La Fuente, Damian Nenow and Yomeddine, A.B. Shawky (joint winners) = Golden Star: Aquarela, Victor Kossakovsky Silver Star: Of Fathers and Sons, Talal Derki Bronze Star: The Swing, Cyril Aris El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: Of Fathers and Sons, Talal Derki = Golden Star: Our Song To War, Juanita Onzaga Silver Star: Judgement, Raymund Ribay Gutierrez Bronze Star: Sheikh's Watermelons, Kaouther Ben Hania El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: EyeBrows, Tamer Ashry = Golden Star: You Will Die at Twenty, Amjad Abu Alala Silver Star: Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa Bronze Star: Adam, Maryam Touzani El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: Papicha, Mounia Meddour Best Actress: Hend Sabry, Noura's Dream Best Actor: Bartosz Bielenia, Corpus Christi Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Les Misérables, Ladj Ly FIPRESCI Award: 1982, Oualid Mouaness = Golden Star: Talking About Trees, Suhaib Gasmelbari Silver Star: 143 Sahara Street, Hassen Ferhani Bronze Star: Kabul, City in the Wind, Aboozar Amini El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: Ibrahim: A Fate to Define, Lina Alabed NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film: Kabul, City in the Wind, Aboozar Amini = Golden Star: Exam, Sonia K. Haddad Silver Star: Ome, Wassim Geagea Bronze Star: Flesh, Camila Kater El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: Give Up the Ghost, Zain Duraie Special Jury Mention: 16 December, Álvaro Gago Díaz = Golden Star: The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic, Teemu Nikki Silver Star: Sun Down, Michel Franco Bronze Star: Captain Volkongov Escaped, Aleksey Chupov, Natasha Merkulova El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: Feathers, Omar El Zohairy Best Actress: Petri Poikolainen, Playground Best Actor: Perri Poikonainen, The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Ostrove: Lost Island, Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop FIPRESCI Award: Costa Brava, Mounia Akl = Golden Star: Life of Ivana, Renato Borrayo Serrano Silver Star: Ostrov - Lost Island, Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop Bronze Star: Sabaya, Hogir Hirori El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: Captains of Za’atari, Ali El Arabi NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film: Captain Volkongov Escaped, Aleksey Chupov, Natasha Merkulova = Golden Star: Katia, Andrey Natotcinskiy Silver Star: Holy Son, Aliosha Massine Bronze Star: On Solid Ground, Jela Hasler El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: Cai-Ber, Ahmed Abdelsalam Special Mention: actress Aisha Al Rifae for Nour Shams directed by Faiza Ambah Pitching Session: CinemaTech by Gemini Africa Gemini Africa is an EgyptIan company extending into Africa and the Middle East for tech startups 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. Egyptian cinema List of film festivals Official website