El Gouna Film Festival Doubles Down on Industry as CineGouna Expands

By Elena Vasquez

The El Gouna Film Festival enters its ninth edition with more than 40,000 tickets sold last year, a 30% attendance jump, and an industry arm, CineGouna, that is moving into television and streaming for the first time. Co-founder and executive director Amr Mansi wants the momentum to serve one goal: getting more money to filmmakers.

"We want the industry to be our hero," Mansi said in an interview with Variety. "We're trying to build the ecosystem with filmmakers, creators and everyone in the industry, but at the same time balancing it with the glam, etc. At the end of the day, commercial partners are needed to keep the festival alive to showcase filmmakers."

How large has CineGouna grown?

CineGouna, launched at GFF's inaugural 2017 edition, now spans funding, a forum, a market and an emerging talent program. This year's numbers mark its widest reach yet:

• CineGouna Funding: more than 310 submissions from across the Arab world; 13 projects in development and six films in post-production selected.
• Egyptian Voices: a new initiative backing four homegrown projects with support in pitching, packaging and co-production.
• CineGouna Series: proposed by Egyptian screenwriter and CineGouna Forum head Mariam Naoum, it drew more than 125 submissions for six spots in a new development lab and industry market.

Mansi links the festival's positioning directly to money on the table. "I believe with our positioning, we can increase the amount of money that we get every year to be able to support more filmmakers and more perspectives," he said.

Sponsors are now part of that equation, providing direct grants and channeling commercial backing straight to filmmakers. "This was never a conversation that I could have dreamed of five, six years ago," Mansi said.

In short, the industry program is no longer a side event; it is the festival's stated center of gravity.

What partnerships is GFF building abroad?

In August, GFF announced a strategic partnership with the Zurich Film Festival covering programming collaboration and the exchange of film, talent and jury recommendations. Mansi wants similar deals elsewhere so emerging talent can move between festivals, build industry connections and find international career opportunities.

Geography gives El Gouna an edge as festivals across the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa) compete for films, projects and talent. Mansi notes that screenings, meetings and networking all happen within minutes of one another — a contrast with many international festivals.

Last year's turnout set a record. GFF sold more than 40,000 tickets and issued more than 7,000 accreditations, with attendance up 30% from the previous edition; its 1,400-seat outdoor plaza was full every day, a level of turnout Mansi says the festival had never previously seen.

How does GFF reach audiences beyond the Red Sea?

The festival is extending its footprint well beyond El Gouna. An agreement with Cairo arthouse cinema Zawya brings part of the program to the capital while the festival runs hundreds of kilometers away. Official broadcast partner Al Nahar Television Network will provide daily coverage of festival activities across Egypt. GFF will also stream selected panels and masterclasses on its digital platforms, opening the festival's industry conversations to the wider Egyptian public and beyond.

Those efforts feed a longer-term plan: a year-round film and industry meeting place that supports filmmakers and connects industry players long after each nine-day edition ends.

The festival's "Cinema for Humanity" mission continues alongside. The newly launched Safe Harbour MENA initiative brings four displaced filmmakers from the region to El Gouna for training and networking. "We are trying to be the voice for the people who don't have a voice, a place to share, to tell their stories," Mansi said.

With the landmark tenth edition next year and new CineGouna initiatives already planned for it, Mansi's stated ambition is clear: turn a nine-day Red Sea event into a permanent engine for Arab cinema financing.