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.

Ghost Trail [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Jonathan Millet
intervista: Pauline Seigland
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Julien Colonna
scheda film] by Julien Colonna, while the Bronze Star was bestowed upon Girls Will Be Girls [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Mar Coll
scheda film], while Charles Peccia Galletto got a Special Mention for his role in My Everything [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Anne-Sophie Bailly
scheda film] by Anne-Sophie Bailly. The El Gouna Star for Best Arab Narrative Film was split between Thank You for Banking with Us! [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Laila Abass and Who Do I Belong To [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Meryam Joobeur
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film], which also won the NETPAC jury’s laurel. The Silver Star went to Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Johan Grimonprez
scheda film] by Johan Grimonprez and the Bronze Star to A New Kind of Wilderness [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. The Brink of Dreams [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Nada Riyadh, Ayman El Amir
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Jonathan Millet
intervista: Pauline Seigland
scheda film] – Jonathan Millet (France/Germany/Belgium)

El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film
The Kingdom [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Julien Colonna
scheda film] – Julien Colonna (France)

El Gouna Bronze Star for Narrative Film
Girls Will Be Girls [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Shuchi Talati (India/France/Norway/USA)

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

El Gouna Star for Best Actress
Laura Weissmahr - Salve Maria [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Mar Coll
scheda film] (Spain)

El Gouna Star for Best Actor
Adam Bessa - Ghost Trail
Special Mentions
Charles Peccia Galletto - My Everything [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Anne-Sophie Bailly
scheda film] (France)
Kani Kusruti, Preeti Panigrahi - Girls Will Be Girls

El Gouna Golden Star for Documentary Film
We Are Inside [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Farah Kassem (Lebanon/Qatar/Denmark)

El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Johan Grimonprez
scheda film] - Johan Grimonprez (Belgium/France/Netherlands)

El Gouna Bronze Star for Documentary Film
A New Kind of Wilderness [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] - Silje Evensmo Jacobsen (Norway)

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film (ex aequo)
The Brink of Dreams [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Nada Riyadh, Ayman El Amir
scheda film] - 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