The event is scheduled to take place from October 14–22, 2021, in the resort town of El Gouna.
El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has selected 11 international feature films for its fifth edition.
The increased number of films that were released at international film festivals this year facilitated the selection process. This is especially noticeable given the diversity in artistic styles, themes, and geographical variation, in addition to a balance between selecting films by globally distinguished directors and aspiring filmmakers, whose films have achieved recent successes and garnered acclaim within the international film community.
From the official competition of the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, two French films will participate in GFF: Stéphane Brizé’s Another World and Audrey Diwan’s Happening.
Also from the 2021 Venice International Film Festival official competition, Mexican director Michel Franco’s Sundown. From Finland, GFF has confirmed the participation of Teemu Nikki’s The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic, which won the Audience Award at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival.
Another film participating in GFF is Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No.6, it has won the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Made by the Chinese director Zhang Yimou, One Second, which opened at the 2021 San Sebastián International Film Festival, is another addition to GFF. From Croatia, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s Murina is also participating. The film won the Camera d’Or Award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Another addition from the 2021 Cannes Film Festival is Kira Kovalenko’s Unclenching the Fists, which tells the story of a young woman who struggles to break free from the chokehold of her family in a former mining town in North Ossetia.
Also participating in GFF is Jacques Audiard’s most recent film, Les Olympiades, which was shown at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, Dénes Nagy’s Natural Light and German actress and director Maria Schrader’s I Am Your Man are also among the selection.
