To prepare you for a long night of movie watching and popcorn popping we’re sharing 16 Arab films that are going to be at El Gouna Film Festival 5th edition 2021.

Arab Films to Catch at GFF

The Sea Ahead

Country: Lebanon

Directed by: Ely Dagher

The Sea Ahead tells the story of a young woman who makes her way back to her parents’ house late at night, after an unsettling experience. She falls back into a part of Beirut life she thought she had left behind. Arab Films to Catch at GFF

Casablanca Beats

Country: Morocco

Directed by: Nabil Ayouch

Casablanca Beats tells the story of former rapper Anas who takes a job at a cultural center in a working-class neighborhood in Casablanca. His students embrace hip-hop and free themselves from previously held limiting ideas. Arab Films to Catch at GFF

Costa Brava

Country: Lebanon

Directed by: Mounia Akl

The Badri family, seeking an escape from the toxic pollution of Beirut, build a home in the mountains. When a garbage landfill is built right outside their fence, tensions arise.

Feathers

Country: Egypt

Directed by: Omar El Zohairy

Sami, an authoritative Egyptian father, was turned into a chicken by a magician’s trick at his 6-year-old’s birthday party. Drama and comedy follow as the family struggles to cope.

Amira

Country: Egypt, Jordan

Directed by: Mohamed Diab

Teenager Amira has grown up believing she was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father. Her sense of identity is shattered when another attempt to conceive a child with her father’s smuggled sperm reveals he is infertile. 

The Blue Inmates

Country: Lebanon

Directed by: Zeina Daccache

The film follows inmates from Roumieh Prison in Lebanon, who produce a play about fellow prisoners who suffer from mental illness and are thus filed under “mad and possessed” by the Penal Code and forgotten behind bars for life.

Captains of Za’atari

Country: Egypt

Directed by: Ali El Arabi

Mahmoud and Fawzi have been living in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan for five years. The opportunity of a lifetime comes when they have a chance to get picked for an international soccer team. Arab Films to Catch at GFF

Back Home

Country: Egypt

Directed by: Sara Shazli

When Sara’s plans turn upside down due to the global pandemic, she finds herself stuck in her childhood home with her parents after living abroad for ten years. As they spend months together in lockdown, Sara feels the need to capture the precious moments spent with her 80-year-old father on film. Arab Films to Catch at GFF

Nour Shams

Country: Saudi Arabia

Directed by: Faiza Ambah

Shams, an Uber driver in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is a single mother with two obsessions: her only child, Makki, and her African desserts. When Makki enters a hip-hop competition, Shams comes face-to-face with the possibility of being separated from him, her vision of their future is turned upside down. Arab Films to Catch at GFF

Night

Country: Jordan, Palestine

Directed by: Ahmad Saleh

Night is a story about how the dust of war keeps the eyes sleepless and how night can bring peace and sleep to all the people in the broken town. Only the eyes of a mother of a missing child stay anxious and awake, so the night has to trick her into sleeping to save her soul.

Arnoos

Country: Jordan

Directed by: Samer Battikhi

Sami, a privileged but sheltered 15-year-old, and street-smart hustler Mahmoud, a 15-year-old corn seller, plan to steal an unexpected gift that will impress Sami’s girlfriend. Things do not go smoothly.

A Dike

Country: Tunisia

Directed by: Bilel Bali

In the course of one evening, everything goes wrong for a young female bar worker. She arrives late for her work, her boss threatens to fire her, she is harassed by a homosexual colleague, and when she gets home, she comes face to face with tragedy.

Tallahassee

Country: United States, Lebanon

Directed by: Darine Hotait

On the day of her release from a psychiatric facility, Mira returns to her mother’s home in Brooklyn for her grandmother’s birthday, only to discover that her sister has told the family that she has been on a trip to Florida. Tallahassee provides a glimpse into the struggles of mental illness, an issue often silenced in Arab culture.

Khadiga

Country: Egypt

Directed by: Morad Mostafa

Khadiga lives alone with her baby after her husband left to work in a remote city. On an ordinary day, she goes through the streets of Cairo to make a few visits where she feels uncomfortable with the surroundings. Arab Films to Catch at GFF

Cai-Ber

Country: Egypt

Directed by: Ahmed Abd El Salam

After numerous failed attempts to escape the status quo of her generation’s depression, Nour, 29, secretly arranges to flee her homeland. Hours before her departure, she embarks on a journey of struggles with a patriarchal society and a fight within to keep her hidden secret.

Full Moon

Country: Egypt

Directed by: Hadi El Bagoury

Starring Khaled El Nabawy, Shereen Reda, Ghada Adel, Ahmed El Fishawy, Yasmin Raeis, Ahmed Malek, Ahmed Hatem, Asmaa Abulyazeid, May El Ghety and Khaled Anwar, the film takes place over one moonlit evening where the constraints and misconceptions that affect society are addressed through five separate love stories.

Inside the Gouna Film Festival with GFF CEO Amr Mansi

Each time we sit in eager anticipation as the opening images of a film roll across the screen, we look forward to being transported into another time, another place, and another mood. Ahmad El Morsy

The skills of the cinematographers and the DOPs (Director of Photography) bring the actors, the sets and locations to life, creating and capturing the details that bring award-winning films to enraptured audiences year-in and year-out. Top of his game, leading DOP and cinematographer Ahmad El Morsy gives us a look into his world.

How did your journey to becoming a leading industry DOP come about?

I started my career purely by coincidence. I love working with my hands. Movement and dexterity are important to me, I enjoy constant motion and cannot stick to a routine every day. The options therefore were limited, but then I heard about film school and it sounded interesting, and potentially something that would work for me.

I found myself enjoying it tremendously, it was as if something magical had happened. I loved the power I found to create, to tell stories with my own vision. That is how it all started, and here I am today. Ahmad El Morsy

Apart from professional skills, what other personal qualities do you feel are essential to succeed as a DOP or cinematographer?

You need to have curiosity, an urge to know more, to see and to be able to visualize. You need to tell so many stories, and to be honest with those stories. You must be flexible and able to adapt to the circumstances. We work in an uncontrolled environment, so this flexibility allows things to happen and move forward.

You need to have leadership qualities and be able to handle a crew. My crew is very big, and I also need to work with other departments. The more you are able to cooperate and enable people to love what they do, the more you are able to get the best out of them.

What does your work involve?

We tell stories, visually. That involves using a lot of elements, like framing, shadows, light, colors, composition, and movement. All of these tools are in our hands to tell the story.

I believe we are visual storytellers, not only capturing and recording. We are creating the moments, putting the audience in a certain mood and delivering messages using the images.

Who have been major influences in your career?

I learned a lot from Tarek El-Telmissany. He changed my perspective a lot. Quite apart from academic stuff, it has been through his personality, the way he deals with films, the way he changes his vision in every film we make. He is a really nice person as well, everyone loves him, and all of this has influenced me.

What have been the high points of your career to date?

When I joined film school and while I was studying, I worked with names like Daoud Abdel Sayed on Ard El Khoud and Tarek El-Telmissany, those were big moments.

Shooting my first feature as DOP was big as well, and of course, shooting Messages from the Sea with Daoud Abdel Sayed. Working as Director and Director of Photography on The Golden Parade was very special, too.

To what extent have advances in technology impacted your work processes over the past 20 years?

Technology has made our lives easier in terms of the sensitivity and variety of cameras, the luxury of not having a limit in terms of filming time. In the past, where it may have been four minutes, now, with hard disks, we can repeat as often as well need. Being able to monitor our work as we go has been very helpful to us.

What have been your most challenging assignments?

Looking back at my career, I think the most challenging work to date has been The Golden Parade. It was a huge job, unlike anything we had seen before, and I was working on it as DOP.

It was a very big responsibility as well, as we were giving an image of my beloved country, our present and past civilizations.

Have you ever faced situations where it has all gone horribly wrong?

Of course! There have been times when it all went wrong and it was an absolute disaster. Sometimes all you can do is call it a bad day and go back home, or you can adapt and find solutions, which can be very stressful.

How do you see the upsurge in international recognition for films from Egypt and the Middle East?

Over the past 20 years, there has been a tremendous improvement, with many of our recent films measuring up to international standards. There are some excellent movies that have been accepted by major festivals, so I believe we are now at a much better level than in the past.

We know that you are always busy with a hectic schedule, what do you have in the pipeline at present?

Now I am filming Kira we Gen, which is a film based on the novel 1919 by the writer Ahmed Mourad. It is being directed by Marwan Hamed and takes place in the early 1920s. It covers the important period in our history involving the resistance against the British army. There are some other jobs in the pipeline as well, but more about those later.

What advice would you offer young people trying to break into the industry?

My first bit of advice to young people would be to learn to use technology. Nowadays, it is much easier, you can gain valuable experience by practicing with the camera on your phone. Through this, you can just shoot and edit.

You can share and gain exposure through social media, and get feedback as well. It is important to set deadlines for work projects and stick to them. That is important for going professional. Ahmad El Morsy

Quickfire round:

Which directors would you like to work with?

I would like to have the opportunity to work with Martin Scorcese, I adore most of his films and he has had a great effect on me.

On your bucket list for 2021?

Before the end of the year, I want to travel to Siwa. I love nature and going on safari, so that is my plan.

Night owl or early riser?

I am definitely a night owl. Not an early riser at all.

Most memorable movie/s you have seen this year?

The Father

Most recent holiday location?

Most recently it was Budapest, for the first time. A mixture of work and leisure, I really enjoyed it. Ahmad El Morsy

Shoes or barefoot?

Definitely barefoot

Person you phone every day?

My daughter Tala

Director Ameen Nayfeh Talks about His Award Winning Film 200 Meters

Before the 5th edition of the widely celebrated film festival of the year, El Gouna Film Festival, we dive into the International Advisory Panel that has been appointed this year.

Youssra

Actress, Egypt

A true icon of Egyptian cinema, Youssra has gained international recognition through her prolific and illustrious career, as both an actress and a singer. Recipient of numerous awards for her work, she has starred in many films that have participated in international festivals. EL Gouna Film Festival

She has also been invited to serve as a jury member at numerous prestigious film events. In 2006, Youssra was chosen to be a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program.

Atiq Rahimi

Author, Film Director, France, Afghanistan

Atiq Rahimi, born in Kabul in 1962, is a French-Afghan writer and filmmaker. In addition to his insightful, thought-provoking novels, some of his works have gone on to become award-winning films.

In 2004, he won the Prix du Regard vers l’Avenir at the Cannes Film Festival, for his debut film Earth and Ashes, based on his own book. In 2012, Rahimi directed an award-winning film adaptation of the book The Patience Stone from a screenplay he co-authored with Jean- Claude Carrière. 

FOREST WHITAKER

Actor, USA

American actor Forest Whitaker has accrued more than 50 international acting performance awards, among them an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of former Ugandan president Idi Amin in Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland (2006).

Committed to supporting humanitarian causes, Whitaker is the founder of the International Institute for Peace and the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative and is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation, and a UNESCO Special Envoy working to combat poverty and hunger.

Hend Sabry

Actress, Tunisia

Tunisian-born Hend Sabry, who is a resident of Cairo, has garnered international acclaim through her performances in diverse film roles, working alongside some of Egypt’s leading directors.

Recipient of numerous awards for her memorable performances, she has also dedicated herself to humanitarian causes. In 2010, she was chosen to be a UN World Food Programme Ambassador and has been working for years to raise awareness on hunger in the region.

Hiam Abbass

Actress, Writer, Film Director, Palestine

Hiam Abbass was born and raised in a village in northern Galilee. After studying photography in Haifa, Abbass moved to France in the late 1980s and embarked on her career as an actress.

Throughout her career, she has worked with prominent filmmakers of many nationalities, including her work as an adviser to Stephen Spielberg during the filming of Munich (2005) and to Alejandro G. Iñárritu for his film Babel (2006), she has directed three short movies.

Margarethe Von Trotta

Actress, Filmmaker, Germany

Actress, writer and film director Margarethe von Trotta began her career in cinema as an actress, before going on to co-script works with Volker Schlöndorff with whom she co-directed The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975).

Her subsequent works dealt with recurring themes of the complexities of female bonding and the uses and effects of violence. In 1981 von Trotta gained international acclaim with Marianne and Juliane, also known as The German Sisters. It was the first film directed by a woman to win the Golden Lion at Venice since Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia (1938). 

Tarak Ben Ammar

Producer, Distributor, Tunisia, France

Tarak Ben Ammar and his studio Carthago Films, launched in 1975, have been instrumental in promoting Tunisia as a shooting destination. He provided production services to many high-profile films, then in the early 90s, he started to transition from servicing and production to media business.

He has produced or co-produced more than 70 movies, and has developed a group presence in several countries, including France, Italy, North Africa and the United States.

Mohamed Malas

Film Director, Syria

Born in 1945 in the town of Quneitra in the Golan, Mohamad Malas represents the Syrian cinéma d’auteur. The turmoil and conflict he witnessed while growing up is something that was to play a major role in his later work. He has received international acclaim for his feature and documentary films and won several awards at film festivals around the world. Malas has also authored The Dream. EL Gouna Film Festival

A Diary of the Film, a haunting chronicle of life in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. An English-language book titled The Cinema of Muhammad Malas (Visions of a Syrian Auteur), written by Samirah Alkassim and Nezar Andary presents Malas’s work and gives dimension and humanity to a country currently defined by ruin and catastrophe. 

Yousry Nasrallah

Film Director, Egypt

One of Egypt’s most highly regarded filmmakers, Yousry Nasrallah, was born in Cairo in 1952. He studied economics and political science before moving to Lebanon, where he worked as a journalist. His career in film began as an assistant to Volker Schlöndorff on his film Die Fälschung, followed by assisting Youssef Chahine on his well-known works Al-Dhakira and Adieu Bonaparte, which he also co-wrote.

Nasrallah’s films have been screened at festivals around the world since his 1988 debut Summer Thefts. Produced by Youssef Chahine, the film made a significant contribution to the revival of Egyptian cinema. His much celebrated films are known for depicting Egypt’s social and political complexities. 

Abderrahmane Sissako

Film Director, Producer, Mauritania

Born in Mauritania in 1961, Sissako grew up in Mali and moved to Moscow to study at the Federal State Film Institute, VGIK. After moving to France in the early 90s, he directed Life on Earth (1998), which was invited to Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes.

He returned to Cannes with Bamako (2006), an outdoor courtroom drama, in which the Malian people accuse the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of harming their economy. EL Gouna Film Festival

Sissako, whose work offers serious narratives about the realities facing Africa, is one of the few film personalities from the Sub-Saharan Africa to be considered as one of the world’s leading filmmakers.

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