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Jordanian films to compete at El Gouna Film Festival
By Israa Radydeh, Jordan News
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AMMAN — The
fifth edition of the annual El Gouna Film Festival announced its lineup which
includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. The festival will be
screened from October 4–22.اضافة اعلان
With a steadfast ambition of highlighting powerful themes and connecting different cultures through developing film and cinema in the Arab world, El Gouna Film Festival selected three films from Jordan to be considered for the festival's main competition.
The films chosen are: Amira, directed by Mohamed Dia coproduced in Egypt and Jordan; Night, directed by Ahmed Saleha coproduced in Jordan and Palestine; and Arnoos, directed by Samer Battikhi, produced in Jordan.
In remarks about the number of Arab films participating in this year's El Gouna Film Festival, Director Intishal Al-Timimi said: "We are thrilled with the quantity of the competing Arab films this year as well as their quality. At El Gouna Film Festival, we scour the Arab world so that we can display the impeccable works to satiate our participants and attendees' passionate cinematic palate. We are also delighted that three of the selected Arab films are Cine Gouna alumni, making us even keener for the film lineup this year."
Artistic Director Amir Ramses also added: "El Gouna Film Festival has made an undeniably significant contribution to the refinement of Egyptian and Arab cinema. This year's selection of Arab films is set on highlighting the extent of our passion for cinema and the very art of filmmaking that renders us all the more eager to share these works with film aficionados around the world."
The 16 selected Arab films are:
Amira
El Gouna Film Festival’s lineup includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. (Photo: El Gouna Film Festival)
Egypt/Jordan
Directed by Mohamed Diab
Amira, a 17-year-old who grew up believing she was conceived through the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father, finds out her father's sperm is infertile.
Night
El Gouna Film Festival’s lineup includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. (Photo: El Gouna Film Festival)
Jordan/Palestine
Directed by Ahmed Saleh
Dust of war causes sleepless eyes. Night can bring sleep to all the people in the broken town. However, the eyes of a mother of a missing child stay anxious and awake, so the night has to lure her to sleep to save her soul.
Arnoos
El Gouna Film Festival’s lineup includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. (Photo: El Gouna Film Festival)
Jordan
Directed by Samer Battikhi
Following two 15-year-olds from very different backgrounds as they try to execute a plan to steal, an unexpected gift leads to them experiencing strange difficulties.
The Sea Ahead
Lebanon
Directed by Ely Dagher
A young woman making her way back to her parent's house in the middle of the night after having a bad experience due to her anxiety finds solace in a part of Beirut she has left behind.
Casablanca Beats
Morocco
Directed by Nabil Ayouch
A former rapper takes a teaching job at a cultural center in a working-class neighborhood in Casablanca. His students find hope in him and free themselves of cultural expectations through hip-hop.
Costa Brava
Lebanon
Directed by Mounia Akl
The Badri family attempt to escape the toxic pollution of Beirut to the utopic mountain home they built, only for a garbage landfill to be built outside property, putting them in the dilemma of resisting or leaving.
Feathers
Egypt
Directed by Omar El Zohairy
An authoritative Egyptian father, Sami, is turned into a chicken by a magician's trick at his son's birthday party, setting his family on the path of a tragically funny adventure of self-discovery to survive without the father.
The Blue Inmates
Lebanon
Directed by Zeina Daccache
In Lebanon, inmates from Roumieh Prison produce a play about fellow prisoners who have mental illnesses and are considered "mad and possessed" by the Penal Code and forgotten for life.
Captains of Za'atari
Egypt
Directed by Ali El Arabi
Mahmoud and Fawzi, who've lived in the Za'atari Refugee Camp in Jordan for five years, focus on their first love — soccer; eventually, the two friends get the opportunity of their lifetime.
Back Home
Egypt
Directed by Sara Shazli
Sara returns home for the first time in 10 years due to the pandemic, stuck in her childhood home for months with her aging parents. Then, she begins capturing moments with her father on film, making home feel like home again.
Nour Shams
Saudi Arabia
Directed by Faiza Ambah
Shams is a traditional single mother in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with two obsessions: Her only child, Makki, and her African desserts. Her life is turned upside down as she realizes Makki has a different vision for his life.
A Dike
Tunisia
Directed by Bilel Bali
A young girl working in a bar arrives late to work; she cannot escape the growl of her boss nor the harassment of her homosexual colleague. Then, when she gets home, she is faced with tragedy.
Tallahassee
United States/Lebanon
Directed by Darine Hotait
Mira returns to her mother's home in Brooklyn after she's released from a psychiatric facility, only to discover that her sister has told the family that she has been on a trip to Florida. Mira tries to reenter her life as she deals with grief and the stigma of mental illness in Arab culture.
Khadiga
Egypt
Directed by Morad Mostafa
Khadiga, a young mother living alone with her baby, goes through the streets of Cairo to make a few visits, and she feels uncomfortable with her surroundings.
Cai-Ber
Egypt
Directed by Ahmed Abd El Salam
Nour secretly arranges to flee her homeland. Hours before her departure, she embarks on a journey of confrontations with the patriarchal society she lives in as she struggles to keep her hidden secret.
Full Moon
Egypt
Directed by Hadi El Bagoury
The film takes place on a moonlit night, where the societal beliefs that kill love are unveiled through five different love stories.
For five years, El Gouna Film Festival has paved the road to all keen filmmakers, aspiring young talents, and enthusiastic cinephiles that may partake in its culture of nurturing dreams and turning visions into reality. This year it continues in carrying out its commitment to celebrating and sharing cultures across the region.
Read more Trending
With a steadfast ambition of highlighting powerful themes and connecting different cultures through developing film and cinema in the Arab world, El Gouna Film Festival selected three films from Jordan to be considered for the festival's main competition.
The films chosen are: Amira, directed by Mohamed Dia coproduced in Egypt and Jordan; Night, directed by Ahmed Saleha coproduced in Jordan and Palestine; and Arnoos, directed by Samer Battikhi, produced in Jordan.
In remarks about the number of Arab films participating in this year's El Gouna Film Festival, Director Intishal Al-Timimi said: "We are thrilled with the quantity of the competing Arab films this year as well as their quality. At El Gouna Film Festival, we scour the Arab world so that we can display the impeccable works to satiate our participants and attendees' passionate cinematic palate. We are also delighted that three of the selected Arab films are Cine Gouna alumni, making us even keener for the film lineup this year."
Artistic Director Amir Ramses also added: "El Gouna Film Festival has made an undeniably significant contribution to the refinement of Egyptian and Arab cinema. This year's selection of Arab films is set on highlighting the extent of our passion for cinema and the very art of filmmaking that renders us all the more eager to share these works with film aficionados around the world."
The 16 selected Arab films are:
Amira
El Gouna Film Festival’s lineup includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. (Photo: El Gouna Film Festival)
Egypt/Jordan
Directed by Mohamed Diab
Amira, a 17-year-old who grew up believing she was conceived through the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father, finds out her father's sperm is infertile.
Night
El Gouna Film Festival’s lineup includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. (Photo: El Gouna Film Festival)
Jordan/Palestine
Directed by Ahmed Saleh
Dust of war causes sleepless eyes. Night can bring sleep to all the people in the broken town. However, the eyes of a mother of a missing child stay anxious and awake, so the night has to lure her to sleep to save her soul.
Arnoos
El Gouna Film Festival’s lineup includes 16 Arab films, three of which are Jordanian. (Photo: El Gouna Film Festival)
Jordan
Directed by Samer Battikhi
Following two 15-year-olds from very different backgrounds as they try to execute a plan to steal, an unexpected gift leads to them experiencing strange difficulties.
The Sea Ahead
Lebanon
Directed by Ely Dagher
A young woman making her way back to her parent's house in the middle of the night after having a bad experience due to her anxiety finds solace in a part of Beirut she has left behind.
Casablanca Beats
Morocco
Directed by Nabil Ayouch
A former rapper takes a teaching job at a cultural center in a working-class neighborhood in Casablanca. His students find hope in him and free themselves of cultural expectations through hip-hop.
Costa Brava
Lebanon
Directed by Mounia Akl
The Badri family attempt to escape the toxic pollution of Beirut to the utopic mountain home they built, only for a garbage landfill to be built outside property, putting them in the dilemma of resisting or leaving.
Feathers
Egypt
Directed by Omar El Zohairy
An authoritative Egyptian father, Sami, is turned into a chicken by a magician's trick at his son's birthday party, setting his family on the path of a tragically funny adventure of self-discovery to survive without the father.
The Blue Inmates
Lebanon
Directed by Zeina Daccache
In Lebanon, inmates from Roumieh Prison produce a play about fellow prisoners who have mental illnesses and are considered "mad and possessed" by the Penal Code and forgotten for life.
Captains of Za'atari
Egypt
Directed by Ali El Arabi
Mahmoud and Fawzi, who've lived in the Za'atari Refugee Camp in Jordan for five years, focus on their first love — soccer; eventually, the two friends get the opportunity of their lifetime.
Back Home
Egypt
Directed by Sara Shazli
Sara returns home for the first time in 10 years due to the pandemic, stuck in her childhood home for months with her aging parents. Then, she begins capturing moments with her father on film, making home feel like home again.
Nour Shams
Saudi Arabia
Directed by Faiza Ambah
Shams is a traditional single mother in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with two obsessions: Her only child, Makki, and her African desserts. Her life is turned upside down as she realizes Makki has a different vision for his life.
A Dike
Tunisia
Directed by Bilel Bali
A young girl working in a bar arrives late to work; she cannot escape the growl of her boss nor the harassment of her homosexual colleague. Then, when she gets home, she is faced with tragedy.
Tallahassee
United States/Lebanon
Directed by Darine Hotait
Mira returns to her mother's home in Brooklyn after she's released from a psychiatric facility, only to discover that her sister has told the family that she has been on a trip to Florida. Mira tries to reenter her life as she deals with grief and the stigma of mental illness in Arab culture.
Khadiga
Egypt
Directed by Morad Mostafa
Khadiga, a young mother living alone with her baby, goes through the streets of Cairo to make a few visits, and she feels uncomfortable with her surroundings.
Cai-Ber
Egypt
Directed by Ahmed Abd El Salam
Nour secretly arranges to flee her homeland. Hours before her departure, she embarks on a journey of confrontations with the patriarchal society she lives in as she struggles to keep her hidden secret.
Full Moon
Egypt
Directed by Hadi El Bagoury
The film takes place on a moonlit night, where the societal beliefs that kill love are unveiled through five different love stories.
For five years, El Gouna Film Festival has paved the road to all keen filmmakers, aspiring young talents, and enthusiastic cinephiles that may partake in its culture of nurturing dreams and turning visions into reality. This year it continues in carrying out its commitment to celebrating and sharing cultures across the region.
Read more Trending
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