The festival management added it will be revealing more details in the coming months.

The change of plans is the result of a "need to develop an integrated strategy that will live up to the growing expectations of the festival as a living platform for film, art, and culture," the management stated. 

The news came after the festival had taken several steps in preparation for the 2022 edition, surprising many cinephiles. 

Earlier this year, El Gouna Film Festival made an open call for film submissions for its sixth edition. This was accompanied by setting the dates for its seventh edition (12 to 21 October 2023) and the eighth (17 to 26 October 2024).

The festival, however, saw numerous changes since its last edition that took place in October 2021.

In March, British-Egyptian singer and actress Bushra Rozza stepped down as chief operating officer of the festival after serving in the post for five years to move on to “new challenges.”

The festival's artistic director, filmmaker, director, and screenwriter Amir Ramses resigned from his post during the festival's fifth edition right before the closing ceremony. 

Ramses later released a statement saying, "after five years of working on the festival, [I am] ready to embark on a new journey and confident that I leave a team capable of doing a great job."

In March, Ramses became the director of the Cairo International Film Festival’s 44th edition — which will run under Hussein Fahmy’s presidency in November.

El Gouna festival was co-founded by businessmen Naguib Sawiris and Samih Sawiris in 2017 in the Red Sea resort town of El Gouna.

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