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The Palestinian issue received the most attention at the opening of the sixth session of the El Gouna Film Festival, which will be held from December 14 to 21.
The sixth edition of the festival – which was launched exceptionally after being postponed twice due to the war on Gaza since last October – began with a short video showing scenes from films dealing with the suffering of the Palestinian people throughout history.
The session was opened by Egyptian actor Mahmoud Hemida, who said that creators and conveyors of truth have the ability to tell unseen stories in humanity’s darkest times. He continued that stories of despair can shed light on the essence of humanity in a world that turns a blind eye to atrocities. But films must be a testimony to humanity’s resilience and hope in the face of darkness.
He pointed out that he was supposed to ask the audience to observe a minute of silence for the martyrs, but he believes that mourning expresses sadness, and may be an incentive to forget, and he does not want himself or everyone to forget.
The artist, Yousra, began her speech on stage with a clip from the song “I don’t care about your name, and I don’t care about your address… I care about the person, even if he has no address.” She dedicated the festival to the Palestinian people and said: “The festival’s slogan is cinema for humanity, and there is no more important tool than art to remind everyone of their humanity, and I dedicate Every moment of the festival was dedicated to a great people who taught everyone the highest meanings of humanity, while humanity was lacking from their enemy, the great Palestinian people.” Then she addressed the Palestinian people and said: “You are always in our hearts and will remain.”
The speech of the festival director, Intishal Al-Tamimi, was not without talking about Palestine. He said that initially the decision to postpone the festival came because of what is happening in Gaza, which is a harsh matter. He added that the festival is being held in December despite the bombing of Gaza due to its importance as a cultural and artistic act.
Al-Tamimi reviewed the festival’s program and what is being highlighted in the new session, saying, “We are attracting a group of the most prominent Arab and foreign films.” He also stressed that the festival is not only a platform for film screenings, as there is an interactive part represented in what is being held on the El Gouna Bridge platform.
The festival’s artistic director, Marianne Khoury, spoke about the details of the events, including the special program “A Window on Palestine,” in which ten Palestinian films will be shown.
Samih Sawiris, one of the festival’s founders, said: Holding the festival this year was necessary to shed light on our Palestinian brothers and their ability to present cinema, so that there is no single voice saying that there are only scenes of killing.
Singing and honoring
During the opening, two songs for Palestine were presented, the first entitled “Olive Branch” presented by the Palestinian-Chilean singer Eliana, and a song in English by the Egyptian singer Abu, entitled “The World Is Blind” about the children of Gaza.
During the ceremony, director Marwan Hamed was honored with the Creative Achievement Award. He expressed his happiness with this honor, which he wished his father, the late writer Waheed Hamed, would attend. He thanked the festival for the decision to establish the special window for Palestinian films.
At the end of the opening, the Egyptian film “60 Egyptian Pounds” was shown, a short film directed by Amr Salama, which revolves around fictional events of experiences related to domestic violence. This is the second time that a film by director Amr Salama has opened the El Gouna Film Festival, as his film “Sheikh Jackson” opened the first session of the festival in 2017.
Arbitration committees
The festival announced the names of the jury members for the three different competitions, which are feature films, feature documentaries, and short films. The jury for the feature film competition includes Indian author and film researcher Anup Singh, Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak, Lebanese-Palestinian actress Yasmine Al-Masry, French-Lebanese actress Manal Issa, and Egyptian director Omar Al-Zuhairi.
The jury for feature documentaries and the Green El Gouna Star includes producer Catherine Dussard, director Jehan Noujaim, Sudanese artist Ibrahim Shaddad, Egyptian-American director Sherif Al-Qatsha, and producer Lamia Al-Sharaibi.
The short film competition jury includes director Lucy Kerr, Tunisian actress Maryam Ferjani, film coordinator Celine Rostan, actress Razan Jamal, and Lebanese director Wassim Geagea.
