The application must be submitted by September 12, 2021, on the festival's official website.
El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) is accepting submissions for short narrative and documentary projects in development, as well as shorts in post-production for the Khaled Bichara Award for Egyptian Independent Filmmakers.
The award is open exclusively to Egyptian filmmakers, with a preference for those based in Egypt. Films must be at most 30 minutes long, and must be the director’s first or second film. The application must be submitted by September 12, 2021, on the festival’s official website.
A tribute to the free thinkers who never shied away from challenges in pursuit of their dreams against all odds, the Khaled Bichara Award for Egyptian Independent Filmmakers aims to commemorate the legacy of the late Khaled Bichara, former CEO of Orascom Development Holding and its subsidiary Orascom Development Egypt, to encourage and recognise unheralded talent. The award offers emerging Egyptian filmmakers a platform and an opportunity to demonstrate their film making abilities and craft and a cash grant of US $10,000.
During the fourth edition of GFF, Engineer Samih Sawiris inaugurated the award in honour of Khaled Bichara, who was renowned for his spirit of innovation and unconventional creativity. The Bichara family said: “We are honoured to see Khaled’s legacy of supporting entrepreneurs and innovation live on through his award. We are looking for promising Egyptian projects that embody the spirit of creativity and out of the box thinking that Khaled passionately backed and bet on.”
Artistic Director Amir Ramses added: “While we continue to mourn the loss of one of the country’s foremost entrepreneurs and creative thinkers, last year’s inaugural award to Hamlet from the Slums by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh was our gate to further support extraordinary talents. We hope that this year, many young Egyptian filmmakers will take this opportunity to gain the kind of recognition to launch their career.”
The fifth edition of GFF is set to take place from October 14 – 22, 2021 while the activities of CineGouna Platform will take place from October 16 – 21, 2021 in the resort town of El Gouna.
