GFF Board members - photo by Sami Wahib
CAIRO – 7 October 2017: Board members of the recent El Gouna Film Festival have spoken about challenges and opportunities met in the first edition of the festival, emphasizing the importance of GFF to Egyptian filmmaking on Thursday in a seminar at the headquarters of Egypt Today.
The board members included Egyptian actress and Co-founder of
Bushra Rozza, Iraqi film critic and director of GFF Intishal Al Tamimi, Kamal Zadah, and CEO of GFFAmr Mansy.
Rozza has stated that the festival has received international recognition, where foreign newspapers have mentioned the festival and international artists are keen to attend the upcoming editions.
They have also announced that an evaluation committee will form during this week to assess the mistakes and positives of the festival,
Board members of GFF has managed to host a number of leading international celebrities at the festival as Oliver Stone and Forest Whitaker.
According to the GFF board members, a number of cinema projects were born under the festival because of the different activities such as the workshops that were held under during the festival.
All the films that participated in GFF included films that premiered for the first time and others that have participated in renowned festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, Al Tamimi, added .
According to the organizers, the main problems that occurred were found in open air cinema theaters that were affected by heavy winds in El Gouna and impacted the quality of the screening.
Mansy has also stated that other technical issues included difficulties with the sound system.
The new GFF has presented a new competition to the long famous Cairo International Film Festival; however Al Tamimi has refuted this rhetoric, saying “GFF crew is supporting the Cairo International Film Festival and will be participating in it”
The board members of GFF also added that all lecture halls and workshops were completely full in the festival.
The festival’s activities were open to the public and were attended by residents of El Gouna, foreigners, and Egyptians.
Rozza has stated that the festival enhanced the beauty of the country and how it is still capable to be existed on the international map.
“The presence of the Turkish actor Khaled Argench enhanced the universal message of the festival which is cinema for humanity and is pure evidence that art is universal and is far away from political issues,” Rozza said during the seminar
GFF board members were honored during the seminar for their efforts at the festival and were presented a shield award each.
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