El Gouna opens ninth edition with 10 titles to watch
Egypt's El Gouna Film Festival is under way on the Red Sea, with its ninth edition running Oct. 15-23 in the resort town of El Gouna, according to Variety.
The festival opened on Oct. 15 with the French feature "All About Corrine" by Marc Fitoussi, starring Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Kiberlain, the festival said on its official website.
British director Joanna Hogg is presiding over the jury, Variety reported on Oct. 14. Hogg leads the panel that will decide the competition prizes.
Variety picked 10 titles to watch at this year's festival on Oct. 16. Four of them sit in the Feature Narrative Competition, the festival's main contest for story-led films.
One is "Safe Exit" from director Mohammed Hammad, made as an Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Qatar and Germany production. It premiered at the Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival. Hammad has history at El Gouna. His feature debut "Withered Green" screened at the inaugural edition in 2017.
Another is "Only Rebels Win" by Danielle Arbid, made as a France, Lebanon and Qatar production. It opened the Panorama section at the Berlinale, a sidebar strand for new international cinema.
The list also includes "3 Weeks After" by Miroslav Terzic, made as a Serbia, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia and Luxembourg production. It won the Europa Cinemas Label at Karlovy Vary, an award from European exhibitors for a film to support in cinemas.
Then there is "Halima" by Yassine El Idrissi, a Moroccan production and his fiction feature debut. It won best director and best actress for Khadija Amari at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
What makes this stand out for regular filmgoers is the circuit at work. Films arrive in El Gouna with a premiere or a prize already in hand, then meet a new audience and a new jury.
The early announcement for the ninth edition included films by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Pawel Pawlikowski among its first 10 titles, Variety reported in August. Full line-ups, screening times and the CineGouna Emerge programme for young filmmakers are listed on the festival's website.
