Ramses's resignation came hours before the closing of the fifth edition of the festival on Friday evening.

“I will keep the reasons of my resignation privy to the festival’s management and myself,” Ramses, who held the position since the GFF’s founding in 2017, wrote on Facebook.

He added that "after five years of working on the festival, he was ready to embark on a new journey and confident that I leave a team capable of doing a great job."

He also thanked the festival’s co-founder and COO Bushra Rozza, co-founder and General Manager Kamal Zadeh and the Executive Director Amal El Masry “for all the wonderful experiences,” and wished the festival a successful closing ceremony.

Some commentators link the timing of Ramses's resignation to the "growing local opposition to Cannes-winning film 'Feathers' by Egyptian filmmaker Omar El Zohairy," Variety magazine wrote.

El Gouna festival was co-founded by businessmen Naguib Sawiris and Samih Sawiris.

The festival’s director is Intishal Al-Tamimi and the executive director is Amal El-Masry.

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