“In light of global changes, one should always keep up and look for new challenges,” the 40-year-old artist posted on her Facebook page.

She explained that she spent seven years with the festival, working on its launch, forming its team, contributing to its organisation and management, and remaining present during its five consecutive editions from 2017 to 2021.

“The festival opened many job opportunities for young people, becoming an important platform to boost and support young filmmakers in Egypt and internationally. I am now ready to take on a new challenge and offer my expertise to other projects,” she added.

She underlined that her experience at the festival enriched her greatly and “perhaps, one day, it will serve as inspiration for me to write a book about this whole journey.”

Bushra’s decision to stepped down as COO came shortly after GFF announced an open call for film submissions for its sixth edition, which is planned to take place between 13 and 22 October.

The festival has also announced the dates of the following editions, with the seventh edition expected to run from 12 to 21 October 2023 and the eighth from 17 to 26 October 2024.

Bushra began her career in entertainment in the early 2000s as a broadcaster before becoming an actress, landing her first role in the sitcom ‘Shabab Online’ (‘Youths Online’).

As she moved up the ladder of acting, Bushra won an early award for her 2004 film ‘Alexandria... New York’ (2004) — which was directed by Youssef Chahine — and then the Best Actress Award at the Dubai International Film Festival for her role in Mohamed Diab’s film, ‘678’ (2010).

Among her other significant roles is the leading role in Akram Farid’s ‘Mr. and Mrs. Oweis’ (2012).

She is also a singer that has released multiple albums, including ‘Makanak’ (‘Your Place’) and ‘Ehki’ (‘Talk’). In 2018, she released a music video titled ‘Cobra’, in which she criticised Egyptian singer and actor Mohamed Ramadan. The highly controversial video garnered millions of views in the span of weeks.

The GFF was launched in 2017 in the Red Sea resort town of El-Gouna and was founded by Egyptian businessmen Naguib Sawiris and Samih Sawiris together with Bushra. The festival’s director is Intishal Al-Tamimi, its executive director is Amal El-Marsi, and its artistic director was Amir Ramses.

Ramses stepped down from his post shortly before the fifth edition’s closing ceremony, and most recently was appointed as the director of the Cairo International Film Festival’s 44th edition, which is scheduled to take place later this year.

The fifth GFF featured 76 films of various genres, with many having their MENA premieres and 10 having their world and international premieres.