El Gouna Film Festival announces the sixth edition of CineGouna SpringBoard, the festival’s project development and co-production platform. CineGouna SpringBoard will take place from October 14th to the 19th.

CineGouna SpringBoard received more than 160 submissions from all parts of the Arab world. A committee of experts reviewed the submissions and selected 13 projects in development (7 narratives and 6 documentaries) and 7 films in post-production (2 narratives and 5 documentaries). The selected projects that represent 9 Arab countries, will be competing for cash and in-kind awards, whose sum exceeds 380.000 USD.

The directors and producers of the selected projects listed above will present their projects and works in progress to producers, funding agencies, distributors, sales agents, and festival programmers to receive constructive feedback. In addition, private meetings are scheduled for the filmmakers with experts and mentors to help them fine-tune their scripts or rough cuts, with the aim of improving their chances of regional and international cooperation. All selected projects in development and films in post-production will compete for awards to be decided by a jury of industry experts.

CineGouna SpringBoard 2023 jury will be composed of Tunisian producer Habib Attia, French producer Guillaume de Seille, in addition to Egyptian director and screenwriter Hala Khalil.

The best project in development and film in post-production will receive a CineGouna Platform certificate and a cash prize of US $15,000 each. Additional awards and cash prizes are presented through partnerships with local, regional, and international institutions (The full list of awards is at the end of the statement)

Three cinema experts will mentor the selected projects, through direct supervision sessions in which the expert develops the capabilities of the filmmakers. The experts for the 6th CineGouna SpringBoard are Egyptian director Jihan El Tahri, French producer Marie Balducchi, and Palestinian director Najwa Najjar.

Intishal Al Tamimi, Director of El Gouna Film Festival, spoke about the 6th CineGouna SpringBoard, saying: “We initially had concerns about the impact of the economic situation on the enthusiasm of partners and film institutions to support the projects participating in CineGouna SpringBoard, but we were surprised by the large turnout that brought the sum of awards to a record compared to all previous editions, which will certainly contribute to helping projects and supporting Arab cinema in general.”

Here is the line-up of selected projects of CineGouna SpringBoard 2023:

Projects in Development:

Feature Narrative:

A Tale of a Feather and a Fish directed by Ahmed El-Hawarey, produced by Hala Lotfy (Egypt)

Assa, a Fish in a Bowl directed by Dahlia Nemlich, produced by Marine Vaillant (Lebanon, France, Denmark)

Eldorado the Taste of the South directed by Alaa Eddine Aljem, produced by Francesca Duca, Louise Bellicaud and Claire Gervais (Morocco, France, Italy)

Girl of Wind directed by Moufida Fedhila, produced by Mehdi Hmili (Tunisia)

So the Lovers Could Come Out Again directed by George Peter Barbari, produced by Christelle Younes (Lebanon)

Specters of Alhoot directed by Ahmad Mahmoud, produced by Mohammed Alomda and Ahmad Mahmoud (Sudan)

Yammi directed by Hinde Boujemaa, produced by Hinde Boujemaa, Caroline Houben, François D'Artemare and Lina Chaabane (Tunisia, Belgium, France)

Feature Documentary:

Crocodopolis directed by Omar Manjouneh, produced by Laura Kloeckner and Kesmat Elsayed (Egypt, Germany, USA)

In the Name of Safia directed by Safia Kessas, produced by Isabelle Truc, Camille Laemlé (Belgium, France)

The 4 Choices of Albert directed and produced by Hala Galal (Egypt)

The Beach Boys directed by Dima El-Horr, produced by Sabine Sidawi (Lebanon, France) 

Theft of Fire directed by Amer Shomali, produced by Rashid Abdelhamid (Palestine, Canada, France)

A Yemeni Documentary Project

Films in Post-Production:

Feature Narrative:

Spring Came on Laughing directed by Noha Adel, produced by Kawthar Younis (Egypt, France)

Tunis-Djerba directed by Amel Guellaty, produced by Asma Chiboub and Karim Aïtouna (Tunisia, France, Qatar)

Feature Documentary:

Land of Women directed by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir, produced by Ayman El Amir (Egypt, France, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)

She Was Not Alone directed by Hussein Al-Asadi, produced by Huda Al Kadhimi and Huma Gupta (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, USA)

The Last Man directed by Mohamed Salah, produced by Mark Lotfy (Egypt, Canada)

Suspended - Diaries from Lebanon directed by Myriam El Hajj, produced by Myriam Sassine and Carine Ruszniewski (Lebanon, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)

Sudan, When Poems Fall Apart directed by Hind Meddeb, produced by Abel Nahmias, Michel Zana, Alice Ormières and Tao Guiga (France, Tunisia)

CineGouna SpringBoard 2023 Sponsors:

- Ambient Light

- American Embassy in Egypt

- Arab Cinema Center

- Arab Radio and Television (ART)

- Arabia Pictures Entertainment

- Big Bang Studios

- Bee Media Productions

- Blue Bee Productions

- CineWaves

- Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) 

- ESLSCA University

- Film Independent 

- French Embassy in Egypt / French Institute

- Hwadi

- International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA)

- Lagoonie Film Production

- MAD Solutions

- O West

- Red Sea Film Fund

- Resala Productions

- Rotana 

- Sard

- Shift Studios

- Synergy Films

- The Royal Film Commission (Jordan)

- Torino Film Lab

List of CineGouna SpringBoard 2023 Awards:

• Cinegouna Platform Award $15,000 in cash for a project in development.

• Cinegouna Platform Award $15,000 in cash for a project in post-production.

• $11,000 cash grant from Arabia Pictures Entertainment. 

• $10,000 cash grant from Synergy Films.

• $10,000 cash grant from Arab Radio and Television (ART).

• $10,000 cash grant from Rotana.

• $10,000 cash grant from International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA).

• $10,000 cash grant from Ambient Light.

• $10,000 cash grant from O West.

• $10,000 cash grant from ESLSCA for an Egyptian project.

• $10,000 cash grant from Resala Production.

• $10,000 cash grant from Blue Bee Productions.

• $10,000 cash grant from French Embassy in Egypt / French Institute for an Egyptian project.

• $7,500 cash grant from Red Sea Film Festival for a project in development.

• $7,500 cash grant from Red Sea Film Festival for a project in post-production.

• $5,000 cash grant from Royal Film Commission (Jordan).

• $5,000 cash grant from Hwadi for a project in development.

• $5,000 cash grant from Hwadi for a project in post-production.

• $5,000 cash grant from Lagoonie Film Production.

• $5,000 cash grant from The Big Bang Studios.

• $5,000 cash grant from Sard.

• $5,000 worth of script development by Mariam Naoum from Sard.

• $40,000 worth of three artistic residencies in Los Angeles from The American Embassy in Cairo and Film Independent.

• $50,000 as MG for sales and distribution from MAD Solutions.

• $30,000 as MG for sales and distribution from CineWaves.

• $5,000 worth Invitation to an Arab producer to attend Rotterdam Film Lab from Arab Cinema Center.

• An invitation for a project in development to participate in Rawi Film Lab by Royal Film Commission (Jordan).

• IEFTA with Torino Film Lab Award: securing a place in Torino Film Lab 2024 for a project in development, covering the participation fees €1700.

• IEFTA with Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) Award: a free European Film Market badge for the producer of one documentary project and a travel bursary to attend the market of €1500 Euro, with a one-year free membership to DAE.

• $20,000 worth of post-production facilities from Bee Media Productions.

• $10,000 worth of full DCP package services from Shift Studios.

• $10,000 worth of full promotion package services from Shift Studios.

• $10,000 worth of shooting equipment from Ambient Light.

• $10,000 worth of post-production facilities from Ambient Light.

• $5,000 worth of editing services from The Big Bang Studios.

• $5,000 worth of color grading services from The Big Bang Studios.

(The list of awards include all awards confirmed as of October 3rd, other awards may be added before the launch of CineGouna SpringBoard)

About the El Gouna Film Festival

El Gouna Film Festival, founded in 2017, is one of the leading festivals in the MENA region.  GFF aims to showcase a wide variety of films for a passionate and knowledgeable audience, while fostering better communication between cultures through the art of filmmaking. Its goal is to connect filmmakers from the region with their international counterparts in the spirit of cooperation and cultural exchange. The festival is committed to the discovery of new voices and strives to be a catalyst for the development of cinema in the Arab world, especially through CineGouna Platform, an industry-oriented event created to empower Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. CineGouna Platform presents the CineGouna Bridge program that provides opportunities for sharing and learning and the CineGouna SpringBoard, a project development and co-production lab.  New this year is the CineGouna Market, including the Short Film Lounge, a place creating a link between emerging and established filmmakers.