CineGouna SpringBoard is a project development and co-production lab that nurtures up-and-coming talent by finding opportunities of creative and financial support for Arab film directors and producers with projects in development or films in post-production.
For its 5th edition, CineGouna SpringBoard received submissions from all parts of the Arab world. A panel of experts reviewed the submissions and made a selection of 13 projects in development, of which 8 are narratives and 5 are documentaries, in addition to 6 films in post-production (2 narratives and 4 documentaries).
Provided with a unique opportunity, the directors and producers of the selected projects listed below 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 with experts and mentors are scheduled for the filmmakers 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.
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 and regional institutions.
Assessed on the basis of their content, artistic vision, and overall financial feasibility, the final list of the selected projects and their directors, representing 8 Arab countries, is as follows:
Projects in Development:
Feature Narrative:
Agora by Ala Eddine Slim – Tunisia
Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore by Morad Mostafa – Egypt
The Blind Ferryman – Al Baseer by Ali Al-Fatlawi – Iraq, Switzerland
Happy Lovers by Hicham Lasri – Morocco, France
My Father’s Scent by Mohamed Siam – Egypt
A Quarter to Thursday in Algiers by Sofia Djama – France
Sink by Zain Duraie – Jordan, Sweden, Canada
Weedestine by Said Zagha – Jordan, Palestine
Feature Documentary:
Fifty Meters by Yomna Khattab – Egypt
My Father Killed Bourguiba by Fatma Riahi – Tunisia
Searching for Woody by Sara Shazli – Egypt
A Song for Summer and Winter by Ali Wajeeh, Talal Derki – Syria, Denmark, United States, Germany
Women of My Life by Zahraa Ghandour – Iraq, Swaziland
Films in Post-Production:
Feature Narrative:
Hanging Gardens by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji – Iraq, United Kingdom, Palestine
Haysh Maysh: False Drama by Hicham Lasri – Morocco
Feature Documentary:
Abo Zabaal 1989 by Bassem Mortada – Egypt, Germany
Hyphen by Reine Razzouk – Lebanon
Nothing About My Mother by Salem Trabelsi, Latifa Doghri – Tunisia
They Planted Strange Trees by Hind Shoufani – Palestine
Guest Film in Post-Production:
Feature Narrative:
Under the Fig Trees by Erige Sehiri – Tunisia, Switzerland, France
