Hundreds of kilometres from the resort town of El Gouna, in the 6 October City suburb west of Cairo, a new initiative was launched to support emerging filmmakers. A collaboration between the CineGouna Platform, the industry arm of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), and O West, one of Orascom Development’s new towns there. According to GFF Artistic Director Marianne Khoury, the goal of the initiative is to expand beyond the boundaries of El Gouna.

“Following the success of GFF,” she says, “our strategy has been to expand beyond our original venue, not only through film screenings, but also through educational and film support programmes. The aim is to benefit a larger number of participants, including audience, industry players, and emerging filmmakers. It is a networking platform that invites young filmmakers to meet professionals, mentors, and investors, showing them the first steps on how to dive into the film industry.”

This new collaboration with O West was announced during GFF’s last round by Co-Founder and Executive Director Amr Mansi and O West CEO Tamer Dweidar. It started last June with a two-day programme of panel discussions, workshops, masterclasses, and film screenings, curated by screenwriter Mariam Naoum and producer Aya Dawara, and representing the CineGouna Bridge. The event brought celebrities, established stars and filmmakers together with emerging and young talents.

But this initiative is not GFF’s first attempt to expand outside the resort. In March 2022, the festival’s first initiative to expand to Cairo was launched by screening five short films from its fifth round at the Zamalek Cinema, where they were very well received by viewers and filmmakers. In the sixth round of the festival in 2023, the Cairo film screenings expanded in an initiative entitled GFF X Zawya, where a selection of the festival’s programme was screened at Zawya Cinema from 17 to 23 December. “This benefited a wider segment of the audience who were not present in Gouna, as they had the opportunity to see many of the festival’s films in parallel with their screening at the festival.”

But what is different about XO West, as the new initiative is called, is that it is the industrial arm of the festival that is venturing out to Cairo. This means that the focus is no longer just the general public and film lovers, but this time also filmmakers who might be supported by the CineGouna Platform.

An industry-oriented event, the platform was launched in the inaugural round of GFF in 2017 with the aim of empowering Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and helping them find artistic and financial support. It presents the CineGouna Bridge programme, which provides opportunities for sharing and learning, the CineGouna SpringBoard, a project development and co-production lab, and the CineGouna Market and the Short Film Lounge, a link between emerging and established filmmakers. This is in addition to CineGouna Emerge, launched in 2023, aimed at young people in various fields of cinema across Egypt. It offers them an immersive experience and the opportunity to participate in and benefit from festival activities.

“The goal of a film festival is to build an audience that watches films, makes films, and gets closer to  the world of cinema,” says Khoury. “Through all of these programmes and events, GFF is seeking to expand its impact. For example, in the Emerge programme we invited 100 emerging filmmakers to have the GFF experience. Another programme targeting children 10 years old and older was designed last year, which will develop in the course of future rounds.”

CineGouna XO West too brings mutual benefits to GFF and O West, she adds. “For us, the goal of pushing the festival through the walls and reaching wider segments of the target audience is being achieved. On the other hand, a new town like O West that is not yet populated will gain vitality and life through the presence of cultural and artistic projects that attract the public, especially young filmmakers. Culture should not be separate from business. The opposite is the case, in fact.”

Regarding the future of collaboration with O West, Khoury says O West should play a greater role by establishing a film fund, as well as developing into a permanent programme that takes place throughout the year: “Expanding beyond the city of El Gouna to Cairo and to other cities is essential. In the next ten years, many new cities will see dense populations, schools and universities attracting hundreds of young people. We have to look at the long-term picture. What we are doing now is planting the seed, which will grow and develop over time.”

In addition to short film screenings, the two-day programme included a workshop entitled “From Idea to Pitch: Pitch and Fund your Short Film”, given by director and producer Yomna Khattab, producer Nora Elkhatib, and GFF head of programming Andrew Mohsen. There were also two masterclasses, “Directing Actors” by filmmaker Hani Khalifa, and “Cooking Drama: Idea, Script, Action, Screen” by screenwriter Mariam Naoum and director Karim Shennawy.

The event included four panel discussions. “Success Stories: Egyptian Shorts that Made it to the World”, moderated by programmer and film critic Mohamed Tarek, featured director Sameh Alaa, director and producer Sandro Canan and director Mourad Mustafa. “Co-Production in the Egyptian and Arab Markets”, moderated by programmer and film critic Andrew Mohsen, featured producer Mohamed Hefzy, director and producer Ayman El-Amir, director Nada Riyadh, and producer Sawsan Youssef. “Women in the Film Industry”, moderated by Nahed Nasr founding director of the Cairo Film Factory, featured director Hala Khalil, producer Shahinaz El-Akkad, producer and director Marianne Khoury. “Short stories to feature: Advertisements world to Cinema”, moderated by CEO of Tarek Nour and actor Ahmed Tarek, featured director Omar Helal and writer George Azmi.

For his part, GFF Executive Director Amr Mansi believes that the educational component of the festival, the CineGouna platform, is a crucial part of the process of creating impact, and one of the elements that has distinguished the festival since its inception. In the latest round of 2023, the aim was for the CineGouna platform to be more visible, both in terms of events such as masterclasses, seminars, and panel discussions and of providing greater support and backing for film projects: part of what the CineGouna platform seeks to do by creating a link between filmmakers, producers, and financiers.

Last year, a hub was designed to bring together all the festival activities, including film screenings and CineGouna events, making it easier for everyone to access and participate in them, touching what is happening in one place. This is what will be built on and developed during subsequent rounds of the festival. Mansi says the film festival is not just a celebratory event, but rather presents many important messages that we seek to convey in every way, including the CineGouna XO West initiative, which is part of the endeavour to reach people in different ways and in different places as well: “CineGouna XO West represents an exciting new chapter in our mission to support filmmakers across the region. By bringing together established stars and emerging talents, we are creating a unique space for creativity and collaboration. We look forward to seeing the innovative projects and ideas that will emerge from this platform.”

For his part, O West CEO Tamer Dewidar expressed his optimism and enthusiasm for the growing cooperation with GFF: “This partnership demonstrates our dedication to promoting culture and art within our community. We are eager to offer a space where filmmakers can flourish and build meaningful connections, as well as establishing a sustainable interactive platform for year-round knowledge exchange. This is part of our focus on building lively, integrated towns that contribute to the community by supporting art, culture, sports, and entrepreneurship.”

Marianne Khoury, who has been GFF artistic director since last round, seems determined to focus on developing and expanding the industry arm of the festival. “By following the activities of the collaboration initiative with O West, I saw how it attracted dozens of young, emerging filmmakers, and the presence of stars and established filmmakers added more confidence and resilience. What happens in Gouna should not stay in Gouna. This is what we aspire to. I see that there are many signs of success, and challenges as well. We want young people to feel that making films is not impossible and that there is no longer one way to gain experience and know how, but many.”

* A version of this article appears in print in the 18 July, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly