El Gouna Film Festival logo - File Photo
CAIRO – 13 April 2018: El Gouna Film Festival management started to accept submissions of films for its second edition from April 12, scheduled to take place in El Gouna from September 20-28.
The submissions are for the Feature Narrative Competition, Feature Documentary Competition and Short Film Competition with the deadline for submission set to be July 22, 2018.
The selected films will compete for total prizes of $220,000. Winners in all categories will be awarded the El Gouna Gold Star for Best Film. Silver and Bronze Star awards will be given to those who claim the first and second rank. An award will also be given to the Best Film from the Arab world in each of the three competitions. In addition, the Feature Narrative Competition will also present an award for the Best Actor and Actress of the competing films.
“The call for submission will give us access to cinematic works that might otherwise escape our attention. During our first edition we had an outstanding line-up of films and we expect the submissions to be equally if not stronger this year. Our endeavor is to explore innovative forms of cinematic expressions and discover new talent,” the festival director Intishal Al-Tamimi added.
Once submissions are complete, the Festival programming team will preview all the participating films to select the movies that represent a balanced mix of films acclaimed at major film festivals alongside newer cinematic works that challenge the norms and explore new and alternative forms of cinematic expression. The selection process will ensure that the films presented have high artistic value that will expand new grounds of mutual understanding and coexistence.
A minimum of a five person Feature Narrative Competition Jury will grant the following awards which will be shared equally between the director and the main producer of the winning film:
El Gouna Golden Star for a Narrative Film (trophy, certificate and $50,000)
El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film (trophy, certificate and $25,000)
El Gouna Bronze Star Narrative Film (certificate, trophy and $15,000)
El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Narrative Film (trophy, certificate and $20,000)
El Gouna Star for the Best Actor (trophy and certificate)
El Gouna Star for the Best Actress (trophy and certificate)
A five-person Feature Documentary Competition Jury will grant the following awards which will be shared equally between the director and the main producer of the winning film:
El Gouna Golden Star for a Documentary Film (trophy, certificate and $30,000)
El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film (trophy, certificate and $15,000)
El Gouna Bronze Star Documentary Film (trophy, certificate and $7,500)
El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Documentary Film (trophy, certificate and $10,000)
A five-person Short Films Competition Jury will grant the following awards, all prizes, including the cash awards, will be awarded to the director of the winning film:
El Gouna Golden Star for Best Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and $15,000)
El Gouna Silver Star for Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and $7,500)
El Gouna Bronze Star for Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and $4,000)
El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and $5,000)
In addition to the abovementioned awards, El Gouna Film Festival will be offering an audience choice award titled “Cinema for Humanity” to eligible films from the feature narrative, feature documentary and official selection out of competition. Winner of the “Cinema for Humanity” award will receive a trophy, a certificate and $20,000.
"During El Gouna Film Festival, not only do we focus on presenting the most important films of the year by acclaimed directors, we’re also focused on opening doors for new films that are yet to be discovered by the world and for our audience to see and enjoy these films through our program. Our first edition included submissions that were filled with new discoveries and during our second edition we will aim to keep shedding light on these promising experiences," said El Gouna Film Festival Artistic Director Amir Ramses.
Only films completed after Dec. 15, 2017 are eligible. Preference will be given to World and International premieres. The conditions of eligibility have been announced in the detailed Rules and Regulations.
The closing ceremony of the first edition of El Gouna Film Festival was on Sept. 29, 2017. It was attended by a notable group of Egyptian and international filmmakers, like Vanessa Williams and the famous American actor Forest Whitaker, who was awarded the lifetime achievement award. The festival’s management showed a documentary that features Whitaker’s most important acting roles.
“Photocopy” won El Gouna Golden Star Award for the Best Arabic Feature Narrative Film (the prize includes the trophy, a certificate and $20,000). Daniel Gimenez Cacho, the star of “Zama”, was awarded the Best Actor Award, while the Best Actress Award went to Nadia Kunda, the star of “Volubilis”. The closing ceremony was presented by the famous Egyptian actress Amina Khalil and ended with a song tailor-made for the festival by the mega star Yousra.
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