El Gouna Film Festival Honours “Safe Exit” and Unveils New Industry Initiatives for Arab Cinema

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival concluded its ninth edition on Friday after nine days of screenings, industry activities and a closing night that dispersed top honors across the Middle East and beyond.

Mohammed Hammad’s psychological drama “Safe Exit,” which follows a young Coptic security guard in Cairo confronting trauma rooted in religious violence, claimed the Golden Star for best narrative feature. Ahmed Hassouna’s documentary “Citizen Osama,” depicting a Gaza photojournalist balancing work and family life amid war, secured both the Golden Star for documentary and best Arab documentary. Anders Davidsen’s short “Stolen Memories,” in which the discovery of childhood photographs prompts an 18‑year‑old to question his past, earned the Golden Star for short film. Rakan Mayasi’s Bekaa Valley‑set narrative “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep” was named best Arab narrative, while Marie Rose Ousta’s short “One Day Born,” about an 11‑year‑old boy living under constant threat from warplanes in Lebanon, received best Arab short honors.

Jordan’s Rakeen Saad was awarded best actress for Zaid Abu Hamdan’s “Boomah,” and Jovan Ginić took best actor for Miroslav Terzić’s “3 Weeks After.”

The festival’s standout moments can be distilled into five key observations.

CineGouna Evolves Into the Festival’s Core Industry Hub

El Gouna co‑founder and executive director Amr Mansi has long declared that “the industry should be our hero.” The ninth edition demonstrated that ambition in concrete terms. Over 320 projects applied for CineGouna Funding; 19 were selected, receiving more than $350,000 across 40 awards. Participants conducted more than 140 one‑on‑one meetings with companies, institutions and international festivals. CineGouna now integrates Funding, a Forum of panels and masterclasses, a Market for filmmaker‑industry matchmaking, and an Emerge program for emerging talent. This year also introduced Egyptian Voices, a development initiative for local filmmakers, and an inaugural Series lab dedicated to Arab television projects. The platform has become as essential to El Gouna’s identity as the films it showcases.

Arab Television Seeks Sustainable Development Pipelines

CineGouna’s expansion into television underscores a broader challenge across the Arab world: abundant creative talent but a scarcity of opportunities to develop and market new series. Veteran Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mariam Naoum, who led a six‑week CineGouna Series development lab, emphasized that while the region is brimming with “great, great talents,” only “three or four platforms” exist, forcing creators to compete for limited airtime. Producer‑screenwriter Haitham Dabbour noted that fewer platforms make buyers more cautious, and director Mariam Abou Ouf warned the industry is “approaching a deadlock.” Six projects were selected for the lab to pitch their series and connect with potential partners, aiming to move closer to production.

Support for Displaced Filmmakers Extends Beyond a Platform

War and displacement continue to shape storytelling across the Arab world, influencing both the narratives that reach audiences and the careers of the filmmakers themselves. The inaugural Safe Harbour MENA, launched in partnership with the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the International Emerging Film Talent Association, placed four displaced filmmakers from the region in a program offering training, project development and industry networking. The initiative reframes assistance as providing professional connections rather than merely a stage for storytelling. This need is underscored by “Citizen Osama’s” double win, as director Ahmed Hassouna remains in Gaza.

Egyptian Filmmakers Push for Greater Creative Freedom

The triumph of “Safe Exit” arrived amid a broader discourse on the evolving Egyptian cinema landscape. Producer Mohammad Mashish highlighted a younger generation enjoying “more freedom than before” and audiences increasingly exposed to international cinema. However, he cautioned that the industry requires additional time for development and screenwriting growth. Producer‑distributor Ziad Srouji encapsulated the challenge succinctly: “Specificity travels, generic does not.” Documentarian Muhammad Mustapha, whose film “Big Boys Don’t Cry” premiered at El Gouna, advocated for models that reduce financial risk while enabling artistic experimentation. The tension is clear: Egyptian filmmakers are looking outward while requesting space to create work rooted in their homeland.

El Gouna Extends Its Reach Beyond the Red Sea Resort

One of the festival’s most significant initiatives will continue after the event’s closure. Cinema on Wheels will take three shorts from this year’s lineup on a free screening tour through Hurghada, Minya, Qena, Luxor and Aswan, concluding in Cairo, accompanied by audience discussions. Artistic director Andrew Mohsen explained that the effort seeks to “increase the reach of El Gouna Film Festival beyond its duration and the town of El Gouna.” For a festival situated in an affluent Red Sea destination, this outreach dramatically expands its impact across Egypt. As Mansi summarized, “Cinema on Wheels is our way of connecting El Gouna to the rest of the country.”

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