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EL GOUNA 2024 Awards

Ghost Trail scoops the Golden Star at the seventh El Gouna Film Festival

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- The debut feature by Jonathan Millet has bagged the main prize at the Egyptian gathering, while The Kingdom by Julien Colonna was a runner-up in the Narrative Feature Competition

Ghost Trail scoops the Golden Star at the seventh El Gouna Film Festival
Ghost Trail by Jonathan Millet

The seventh edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (24 October-1 November), which unspools in a resort on the Egyptian shore of the Red Sea, inaugurates the festival season in the Arab countries. The “Arab autumn” will thus continue in Cairo, Marrakech, Jeddah and Cartage. This year’s El Gouna programme offered a plethora of European productions and co-productions, many of which were among the winners.

“This edition has been a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and supporting diverse voices in cinema,” said Amr Mansi, the executive director of El Gouna, in a press release, which also noted record-breaking attendance levels: 22,500 admissions and 5,500 accreditations issued.

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Ghost Trail [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonathan Millet
interview: Pauline Seigland
film profile
]
by Jonathan Millet, which premiered earlier this year in the Cannes Critics’ Week, won the Golden Star, the main award in the Narrative Feature Competition, along with a nod for Best Actor (Adam Bessa). The Silver Star went to The Kingdom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julien Colonna
film profile
]
by Julien Colonna, while the Bronze Star was bestowed upon Girls Will Be Girls [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Shuchi Talati; the latter film also received a Special Mention for the actresses playing the lead roles (Kani Kusruti and Preeti Panigrahi) and a nod from the FIPRESCI jury. Spanish thesp Laura Weissmahr was named Best Actress for her performance in Mar Coll’s Salve Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mar Coll
film profile
]
, while Charles Peccia Galletto got a Special Mention for his role in My Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anne-Sophie Bailly
film profile
]
by Anne-Sophie Bailly. The El Gouna Star for Best Arab Narrative Film was split between Thank You for Banking with Us! [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Laila Abass and Who Do I Belong To [+see also:
film review
interview: Meryam Joobeur
film profile
]
by Meryam Joobeur.

Non-fiction films were also presented, and the top gong, also called the Golden Star, fell to Farah Kassem for We Are Inside [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
, which also won the NETPAC jury’s laurel. The Silver Star went to Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat [+see also:
film review
interview: Johan Grimonprez
film profile
]
by Johan Grimonprez and the Bronze Star to A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Brink of Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nada Riyadh, Ayman El Amir
film profile
]
by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir and My Memory Is Full of Ghosts by Anas Zawahri shared the title of Best Arab Documentary Film.

As for the shorts, the Golden Star was given to Upshot by Maha Haj, the Silver Star was split between An Orange from Jaffa by Mohammad Almughanni and How We Got Mother Back by Gonçalo Waddington, while the Bronze Star was granted to Ebb & Flow by Nay Tabbara. Arab short films were also lauded, with A Promise to the Sea by Amanet Al-Bahr nabbing the El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film, and Voiceless by Samuel Patthey and Dawn Every Day by Amir Youssef getting Special Mentions.

This year, the festival introduced the Green Star Award competition, which presented films discussing environmental issues. The winner of this section was The Battle for Laikipia by Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi, with A New Kind of Wilderness getting a Special Mention. Last but not least, the Audience Award, bearing the title of the festival’s claim of “Cinema for Humanity”, went to Disorder, an anthology film directed by Lucien Bourjeily (The Group), Bane Fakih (Motherland), Wissam Charaf (Don’t Panic) and Areej Mahmoud (A Piece of Heaven).

Here is the full list of award winners:

El Gouna Golden Star for Narrative Film
Ghost Trail [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonathan Millet
interview: Pauline Seigland
film profile
]
– Jonathan Millet (France/Germany/Belgium)

El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film
The Kingdom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julien Colonna
film profile
]
– Julien Colonna (France)

El Gouna Bronze Star for Narrative Film
Girls Will Be Girls [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Shuchi Talati (India/France/Norway/USA)

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Narrative Film (ex aequo)
Thank You for Banking with Us! [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Laila Abass (Palestine/Germany/Saudi Arabia/Qatar/Egypt)
Who Do I Belong To [+see also:
film review
interview: Meryam Joobeur
film profile
]
- Meryam Joobeur (Tunisia/France/Canada)

El Gouna Star for Best Actress
Laura Weissmahr - Salve Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mar Coll
film profile
]
(Spain)

El Gouna Star for Best Actor
Adam Bessa - Ghost Trail
Special Mentions
Charles Peccia Galletto - My Everything [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anne-Sophie Bailly
film profile
]
(France)
Kani Kusruti, Preeti Panigrahi - Girls Will Be Girls

El Gouna Golden Star for Documentary Film
We Are Inside [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Farah Kassem (Lebanon/Qatar/Denmark)

El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat [+see also:
film review
interview: Johan Grimonprez
film profile
]
- Johan Grimonprez (Belgium/France/Netherlands)

El Gouna Bronze Star for Documentary Film
A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
- Silje Evensmo Jacobsen (Norway)

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film (ex aequo)
The Brink of Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nada Riyadh, Ayman El Amir
film profile
]
- Nada Riyadh, Ayman El Amir (Egypt/France/Denmark/Qatar/Saudi Arabia)
My Memory Is Full of Ghosts - Anas Zawahri (Syria)

El Gouna Golden Star for Best Short Film
Upshot - Maha Haj (Palestine/Italy/France)

El Gouna Silver Star for Short Film (ex aequo)
How We Got Mother Back - Gonçalo Waddington (Portugal)
An Orange From Jaffa – Mohammed Almughanni (Palestine/Poland)

El Gouna Bronze Star for Short Film
Ebb & Flow - Nay Tabbara (Lebanon/Qatar/USA)
Special Mentions
Dawn Every Day - Amir Youssef (Egypt)
Voiceless - Samuel Patthey (Switzerland)  

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film
A Promise to the Sea - Hend Sohail (Egypt/Sweden)

Green Star Award
The Battle For Laikipia - Daphne Matziaraki, Peter Murimi (Kenya/USA)
Special Mention
A New Kind of Wilderness - Silje Evensmo Jacobsen

Cinema for Humanity Audience Award
Disorder - Lucien Bourjeily, Bane Fakih, Wissam Charaf, Areej Mahmoud (Lebanon)

FIPRESCI Award
Girls Will Be Girls - Shuchi Talati

NETPAC Award
We Are Inside - Farah Kassem

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