The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF; Egyptian Arabic: مهرجان الجونة السينمائي) is an annual film festival established in 2017, held in the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna, Egypt.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} The inaugural festival started September 22, 2017.^[2][7] The psychological thriller Scary Mother, by Georgian first-time director Ana Urushadze, took the Golden Star, the festival's top feature film competition prize.^{[8][7][9][10]} Oscar-winning actor-director Forest Whitaker was feted with a lifetime achievement award.^[11]

Awards

Feature Narrative Competition

• El Gouna Gold Star for a Narrative Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 50,000)

• El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 25,000)

• El Gouna Bronze Star Narrative Film

(Certificate, Trophy and USD 15,000)

• El Gouna Star for Best Arab Narrative Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 20,000)

• El Gouna Star for Best Actor

(Trophy and Certificate)

• El Gouna Star for Best Actress

(Trophy and Certificate)

Feature Documentary Competition

• El Gouna Gold Star for a Documentary Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 30,000)

• El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 15,000)

• El Gouna Bronze Star Documentary Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 7,500)

• El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film

(Trophy, Certificate and USD 10,000)

2017 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: Scary Mother, Ana Urushadze

Silver Star: The Insult, Ziad Dower

Bronze Star: Arrhythmia, Boris Khlebnikov

Golden Star for Best Arabic Feature Film: Photocopy, Tamer Ashry

Best Actress: Nadia Kounda, Volubilis

Best Actor: Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Zama^[8]

Cinema For Humanity Audience Award: Soufra, Thomas Morgan

Documentary competition

Golden Star: I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck

Silver Star: Brimstone and Glory, Viktor Jakovleski

Bronze Star: Mrs Fang, Wang Bing

Golden Star For Best Arabic Documentary: I Have a Picture, Mohamed Zedan^[12]

Short Film competition

Golden Star: Nightshade, Shady El-Hamus

Silver Star: Merry-Go-Round, Ruslan Bratov

Bronze Star: Mama Bobo, Robin Andelfinger and Ibrahima Seydi

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: Punchline, Christophe M. Saber^[13]

2018 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: A Land Imagined, Yeo Siew Hua

Silver Star: Ray & Liz, Richard Billingham

Bronze Star: The Heiresses, Marcelo Martinessi

El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: Yomeddine, A.B. Shawky

Special Mention: The Man Who Surprised Everyone, Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov

Best Actress: Joanna Kulig, Cold War

Best Actor: Mohamed Dhrif, Dear Son

Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Another Day Of Life; Raúl De La Fuente, Damian Nenow and Yomeddine, A.B. Shawky (joint winners)

Feature Documentary competition

Golden Star: Aquarela, Victor Kossakovsky

Silver Star: Of Fathers and Sons, Talal Derki

Bronze Star: The Swing, Cyril Aris

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: Of Fathers and Sons, Talal Derki

Short Film competition

Golden Star: Our Song To War, Juanita Onzaga

Silver Star: Judgement, Raymund Ribay Gutierrez

Bronze Star: Sheikh's Watermelons, Kaouther Ben Hania

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: EyeBrows, Tamer Ashry^[14]

2019 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: You Will Die at Twenty, Amjad Abu Alala

Silver Star: Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa

Bronze Star: Adam, Maryam Touzani

El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: Papicha, Mounia Meddour

Best Actress: Hend Sabry, Noura's Dream

Best Actor: Bartosz Bielenia, Corpus Christi

Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Les Misérables, Ladj Ly

FIPRESCI Award: 1982, Oualid Mouaness

Feature Documentary competition

Golden Star: Talking About Trees, Suhaib Gasmelbari

Silver Star: 143 Sahara Street, Hassen Ferhani

Bronze Star: Kabul, City in the Wind, Aboozar Amini

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: Ibrahim: A Fate to Define, Lina Alabed

NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film: Kabul, City in the Wind, Aboozar Amini

Short Film competition

Golden Star: Exam, Sonia K. Haddad

Silver Star: Ome, Wassim Geagea

Bronze Star: Flesh, Camila Kater

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: Give Up the Ghost, Zain Duraie

Special Jury Mention: 16 December, Álvaro Gago Díaz^[15]

2021 Winners

Feature Narrative competition

Golden Star: The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic, Teemu Nikki

Silver Star: Sun Down, Michel Franco

Bronze Star: Captain Volkongov Escaped, Aleksey Chupov, Natasha Merkulova

El Gouna Star for Best Arabic Narrative Film: Feathers, Omar El Zohairy

Best Actress: Petri Poikolainen, Playground

Best Actor: Perri Poikonainen, The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

Cinema for Humanity Audience Award: Ostrove: Lost Island, Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop

FIPRESCI Award: Costa Brava, Mounia Akl

Feature Documentary competition

Golden Star: Life of Ivana, Renato Borrayo Serrano

Silver Star: Ostrov - Lost Island, Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop

Bronze Star: Sabaya, Hogir Hirori

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Documentary Film: Captains of Za’atari, Ali El Arabi

NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film: Captain Volkongov Escaped, Aleksey Chupov, Natasha Merkulova

Short Film competition

Golden Star: Katia, Andrey Natotcinskiy

Silver Star: Holy Son, Aliosha Massine

Bronze Star: On Solid Ground, Jela Hasler

El Gouna Star for Best Arab Short Film: Cai-Ber, Ahmed Abdelsalam

Special Mention: actress Aisha Al Rifae for Nour Shams directed by Faiza Ambah^[16]

Side events

Pitching Session: CinemaTech by Gemini Africa^{[17][18] [19] [20] [21] [22][23]}

Gemini Africa is an EgyptIan company extending into Africa and the Middle East for tech startups in an entrepreneurial pitching event under Cinematech’s track.^[24]

CinemaTech is the first entrepreneurial track bridging the gap between entrepreneurship and filmmaking, with the aim of uplifting the industry by injecting technological solutions offered by startups.^[25][26]