Two movies to be screened for first time in El Gouna Festival

CAIRO - 8 September- 2017: El Gouna Film Festival has chosen two prominent movies to be screened for the first time in the Middle East, which are the Swedish film “The Square” and the German movie “The Other Side of Hope.”

“The Square” movie is the Palm d’Or winner of the Cannes Film Festival 2017. The story of the movie revolves around Christian, who is the curator of Stockholm Palace after it was converted to a museum, and the chaos in his life after his mobile phone was stolen.
“The Other Side of Hope” is a movie about a poker-playing restaurant owner and ex-traveling salesperson who become friends with a group of refugees who recently arrived to Finland. The movie is directed by Aki Kaurismäki, the winner of the Berlinale Festival award for the best director in 2017.

El Gouna Film Festival in its first edition is headed by the Iraqi critic Inteshal ElTamimi. “Cinema for Humanity” is El Gouna Film Festival’s slogan. Emerging Arab and Egyptian filmmakers gear up to participate in the first anticipated edition of the GFF, which will run between September 22 and September 29 at El Gouna, Hurghada.

Sponsored by the Egyptian Culture Ministry and the Egyptian Tourism Authority, the GFF seeks to foster different cinematic voices and generate opportunities to further develop creativity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The U.S. embassy in Cairo is also partnering in the festival through the Premier American Film Diplomacy Program and the American Film Showcase, which will host the festival’s workshops and mentoring sessions, according to a statement released by the cultural attaché of the embassy.

Displaying an array of works from around the globe, the festival is promoting rising filmmakers and will include several competition categories: Feature Narrative, Feature Documentary, Short Films, “Official Out of Competition” selection and Special Programs.