El Gouna names five filmmakers for third Rising Stars cohort
El Gouna Film Festival has named five emerging filmmakers for the third cohort of its Rising Stars programme.
The five are Egyptian director Abdallah Dnewar, Saudi Arabian writer-director Razan AlSoghayer, Palestinian filmmaker Omar Rammal, Palestinian Jordanian director-producer Asmahan Bkerat and Syrian director of photography, editor and director Rama Abdi, according to Deadline.
Rising Stars was launched in 2024 as part of CineGouna Emerge, the festival's strand for developing next-generation film professionals from MENA, the Middle East and North Africa. The programme is spearheaded by Hayat Aljowaily, Director of CineGouna Emerge and International Engagement.
AlSoghayer arrives with a film already in the building. Her debut short Son Of Badriyah plays in this edition of El Gouna.
Rammal brings two shorts with festival mileage. His Everyday in Gaza won the best short documentary award at the 2026 David di Donatello awards in Italy. His debut fiction short Kentucky Gaza makes its MENA premiere at El Gouna — its first showing in the Middle East and North Africa — after premiering in International Competition at Clermont-Ferrand.
Bkerat is selected on the back of a feature debut. Her documentary Concrete Land premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and then won the Insights Audience Award at VIFF in Vancouver.
Abdi is using El Gouna to move a new project forward. She is presenting her first feature-length documentary, House Number 7, in the CineGouna Funding project showcase, where filmmakers present work in development to potential backers.
What makes this stand out for festival watchers is the timing. Rising Stars puts filmmakers in the spotlight at the moment they have new shorts premiering, awards in hand or features to finance. For audiences, this means five names to track across this year's programme and beyond.
