Moustafa El-Kilany

The El Gouna Film Festival lifts the curtain today, Thursday, October 15, on its ninth edition, which runs through October 23. A close look at its program and screening schedules reveals one of its most mature and socially engaged editions to date. This year, the festival does not simply attract major award winners from Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Sundance; it explicitly champions cinema that confronts the wounds of the Arab world and the pressing challenges of our time, presenting 53 films from 45 countries. This rich slate ranges from pure auteur cinema and hard-hitting documentaries detailing the genocidal war in Gaza to restored classics of Egyptian and Italian realism, alongside robust industry activities headlined by a tribute to superstar Mona Zaki.

Mona Zaki: A Deserved Tribute and Beyond Stardom

The festival honors superstar Mona Zaki this year with the Career Achievement Award, recognizing an exceptional artistic journey spanning more than three decades and comprising over 80 works across film, television, and theater. Zaki's tribute is especially significant given her enduring ability to defy stereotypes, moving effortlessly from early commercial comedies such as Saeedi at the American University to complex psychological and social roles in acclaimed titles like Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, Flight 404, and Under Guardianship, as well as portraying Umm Kulthum in the upcoming biopic El Sett.

The festival also commends her work behind the camera as a producer empowering Arab female filmmakers through her company HerStory Films. Beyond the red carpet ceremonies, Zaki will meet audiences and filmmakers in a keynote panel titled 'Beyond Stardom,' moderated by director Mohamed Yassin on Friday, October 16, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM at the CineGouna Theatre, unpacking performance craft and the challenges of sustaining artistic passion.

Opening Night in Paris Backstages and Egyptian Hopes Led by Hammad

Official screenings begin Friday, October 16, with the French opening feature Tout sur Corinne (All About Corinne) directed by Marc Fitoussi, screening at 9:30 PM at the Plaza Theatre. Bringing together Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Kiberlain, the film takes a behind-the-scenes look at cinema itself, following the aspirations of an extra who never loses hope of landing her big break in the French film scene, in a piece blending human authenticity and lighthearted humor.

In the official competition, Egyptian cinema asserts its presence in the Feature Narrative Competition through A Safe Exit by Mohamed Hammad, who returns to the big screen nearly a decade after his acclaimed debut Withered Green. Following its world premiere in Berlin and Asian premiere in Shanghai, the film—produced by Kholoud Saad and starring Marwan Walid and Nora Ahmed—plunges into the streets of Downtown Cairo through the character of Samaan, a young Coptic security guard chasing his literary ambitions while battling post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing his father's murder by an extremist militant group during his childhood. Hammad poses an existential question for an entire generation raised amidst bloody violence: Is there a safe exit from the memory of pain? The film will hold its red carpet screening at the Plaza Theatre on Tuesday, October 20, at 9:30 PM.

Egyptian cinema also makes a powerful showing in the Feature Documentary Competition with two world premieres capturing the pulse of the Egyptian street from fresh angles: the first is Amir El-Shenawy's Return of Captain Kabonga, taking his camera to Ismailia amidst the economic crisis to document the struggles of amateur wrestlers and their veteran trainer to stage American-style pro wrestling matches (Saturday, October 17, 7:00 PM at the Plaza Theatre).

The second is No Man Cries by Mohamed Moustafa, which delves into the hyper-masculine subculture of Cairo's bodybuilders and nightclub bouncers, uncovering human vulnerability and self-doubt beneath their muscular armor (Monday, October 19, 7:00 PM at the Plaza Theatre).

Egypt also participates in the Short Film Competition with two world premieres: Confusion by Mariam Abdel-Gaber (Shorts Program 2, Tuesday, October 20, 1:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1) and The Malicious by Gad Shaheen (Shorts Program 4, Thursday, October 22, 1:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1).

Festival Giants: Palme d'Or and Golden Bear Winners in El Gouna

The festival's programming team has secured some of the world's most acclaimed festival winners for Gouna audiences in the Official Selection Out of Competition section.

Leading the lineup is Fjord by acclaimed Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2026. The film turns a piercing eye toward Western society through the tragedy of a devout Romanian-Norwegian family plunged into a legal and bureaucratic nightmare after their children are seized by Norwegian child welfare services (Saturday, October 17, 9:30 PM at the Plaza Theatre).

From Berlin, the Golden Bear winner Yellow Letters by İlker Çatak portrays the unraveling marriage of two Turkish theater artists after an incident during their opening night leaves them targeted by authorities (Friday, October 16, 1:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1).

Also screening is Suddenly by Japan's Ryusuke Hamaguchi, which earned the Best Actress award for its two leads at Cannes, delivering an expansive three-hour epic on caregiving and confronting mortality (Friday, October 16, 6:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1), as well as Queen of the Sea starring Juliette Binoche, winner of two Silver Bears at Berlin (Sunday, October 18, 2:15 PM at Audimax Hall).

In the Feature Narrative Competition, competition runs high with Pawel Pawlikowski's Fatherland, winner of Best Director at Cannes 2026, portraying identity and guilt in post-war Europe (Saturday, October 17, 6:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1), and Markus Schleinzer's Rose, which earned star Sandra Hüller a Berlin Silver Bear for her role as an outcast in disguise in a 17th-century German village (Thursday, October 22, 6:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1).

In regional cinema, the competition features Moroccan title Halima by Yassine Idrissi, winner of Best Director and Acting at the Shanghai International Film Festival (Monday, October 19, 4:30 PM at Sea Cinema 1); Lebanese director Danielle Arbid's To Whomever Dares, tracking a love affair between a woman in her sixties and a young Sudanese refugee in a crisis-stricken Beirut (Sunday, October 18, 7:00 PM at the Plaza); and Karim Kassem's Lebanese entry Qasatel, winner of Best Actor at Karlovy Vary (Wednesday, October 21, 4:00 PM at Sea Cinema 1).

Uncompromising Documentaries: Eyewitnessing the Gaza Genocide and Alex Odeh's Assassination

This year, the documentary section moves beyond formal aesthetics to serve as a living historical indictment, aligned with the festival's overarching theme 'Archive of Stories,' which examines how collective memory can be shielded from erasure and destruction.

At the center of this focus is American Doctor by Poh Si Teng, winner at Sundance and Thessaloniki. The film follows three American physicians entering the Gaza Strip to save lives, only to bear witness to the horrors of genocide (Friday, October 16, 12:30 PM at Sea Cinema 2, with a making-of panel on Tuesday, October 20, at 11:00 AM at the Hub Room).

Documentation directly from the Strip continues with Citizen Osama by Palestinian filmmaker Ahmed Hassouna, arriving from Venice, following a cameraman risking his life across twelve months to record daily loss and survival under bombardment (Sunday, October 18, 3:30 PM at Sea Cinema 2).

The Palestinian thread extends to the investigative American documentary Who Killed Alex Odeh? by William Youmans and Jason Osder, recipient of the Sundance Award for Journalistic Excellence. Four decades later, the film reopens the bombing that killed Palestinian-American community organizer Alex Odeh, exposing the political forces that have shielded his perpetrators from accountability (Wednesday, October 21, 12:00 PM at Sea Cinema 2).

International contenders also include Sundance Jury Prize winner The Annoying Bear (Friday, October 16, 3:00 PM at Sea Cinema 2).

Big Screen Nostalgia: Rossellini's Realism and the Cinematic World of Mohamed Khan

For lovers of classic cinema, the Special Program dedicates space to realism masterpieces through newly restored prints at Audimax. The festival commemorates the tenth anniversary of the passing of renowned director Mohamed Khan by screening his iconic The Street Player (El Hareef) starring Adel Emam (Saturday, October 17, 12:00 PM), his masterpiece A Dinner Date (Monday, October 19, 7:30 PM), alongside Yousry Nasrallah and Wahid Hamed's Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story (Saturday, October 17, 3:00 PM).

The festival also revisits two crown jewels of Italian Neorealism by Roberto Rossellini: Rome, Open City (Friday, October 16, 12:00 PM at Audimax) and Paisan (Monday, October 19, 12:30 PM at Sea Cinema 3).

The Industry Engine at CineGouna: Series Incubation and the AI Debate

Across seven days (October 16–22), the CineGouna platform becomes an energetic professional and intellectual hub connecting Arab filmmakers to the global marketplace.

This edition inaugurates the first 'CineGouna Series' program headed by writer Mariam Naoum, addressing seismic shifts in the Arab television industry. Six series projects were selected out of 125 applicants for development and pitching before platforms and producers on October 19.

October 21 features four Egyptian narrative projects within the Sawiris Screenplay Lab, alongside 19 projects competing across development and post-production in the CineGouna Film Production Support Program, which introduced a dedicated track titled 'Egyptian Voices' featuring four promising titles.

Reflecting the festival's humanitarian commitment, the 'Safe Harbor MENA' initiative launches in partnership with the International Film Festival Rotterdam to host, train, and support Arab filmmakers displaced by war, running alongside screenings of the Displaced Filmmakers Support Fund on Friday, October 16, at 5:00 PM at Sea Cinema 3.

Meanwhile, CineGouna Bridge features an intellectual agenda addressing pressing industry concerns. Beyond the Khan film screenings, the Bridge hosts two panels exploring his legacy at the CineGouna Theatre: 'Mohamed Khan's Men: Non-Conformist Heroes,' featuring Hussein Fahmy, Nadine Khan, and Ahmed Shawky, moderated by Ramy Abdel Razek (Sunday, October 18, 1:00 PM), and 'Her Own Story: Women in Mohamed Khan's Cinema,' featuring Laila Elwi, Hana Shiha, and Dina Farouk, moderated by May Telmissany (Monday, October 19, 3:00 PM).

Tackling the shrinking space for female leads commercially, the panel 'Female Leads at the Box Office' features superstars Yousra and Laila Elwi alongside directors Inas El-Degheidy and Mariam Abou Ouf, moderated by Alaa Karkouti (Saturday, October 17, 3:00 PM at the CineGouna Theatre), preceded by an in-depth conversation with producer Mohamed Mechiche on 'Television Drama Production,' moderated by actress Reham Abdel Ghafour at 12:00 PM.

Other flagship sessions include director Jihan El-Tahri discussing 'Reclaiming the Archive: Ownership of Image and Narrative' (Sunday, October 18, 11:00 AM at the Hub Room), followed by international expert Angus Finney on 'AI: How to Navigate the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' and intellectual property (Sunday, October 18, 3:00 PM at the CineGouna Theatre).

The same stage hosts a masterclass by acclaimed director Yousry Nasrallah titled 'The Cinema of Innovation,' moderated by Ahmed Amer (Tuesday, October 20, 3:00 PM), preceded at 1:00 PM by 'Bridging the Divide: Festival Darlings vs. Box Office Hits.'

A notable session on Wednesday, October 21, at 11:00 AM in the Hub Room explores 'Beyond the Screen: The Impact Campaign for the Film The Voice of Hind Rajab,' leading into Thursday, October 22, with a masterclass by Moroccan auteur Faouzi Bensaïdi at 11:00 AM, followed at 1:00 PM by 'Egyptian Laughter Across Borders,' featuring Dina El-Sherbiny and Khaled Diab to unpack the enduring pan-Arab appeal of Egyptian comedy.

This comprehensive lineup demonstrates that the ninth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival stands on firm ground, steadfast in its motto 'Cinema for Humanity,' and affirming that in times of crisis, the seventh art remains the vanguard of collective consciousness, memory, and Arab identity.