سيني جونةCineGouna
Arab films still in development or in post-production come to El Gouna to meet advisers, funders and festivals, and to compete for prizes that help them get made.
One project's path, on film
Goodbye Julia, from Sudan: from the lab in 2020 to Cannes, where it was the first Sudanese feature ever shown, then the Oscars, and back to El Gouna. Roll the film with the arrows.
Projects that came back to win
Three projects from the very first lab, in 2017, came back finished and won at the festival itself.
A prize in kind in 2017 · Best Arab Narrative Film and the audience award in 2018YomeddineAbu Bakr ShawkyEgyptian film
10,000 dollars in 2017 · the first Green Star, in 2021Costa Brava, LebanonMounia AklArab film
5,000 dollars in 2017 · the audience award in 2020200 MetersAmeen NayfehArab film
Aisha Can't Fly Away
Morad Mostafa's project won 5,000 dollars at CineGouna in 2021. In 2024 it took five prizes at Venice's Final Cut, and in 2025 it was selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
More projects apply every year
Applications to the lab, in the years the festival published them. A plus sign means "more than". Point at a year or touch it: its arch rises.
Applications: 2017, more than 50; 2018, 145; 2019, 133; 2020, 99; 2023, more than 160.
Its parts, and their names
- 2017SpringBoard, the lab, begins with 16 projects
- 2020By now there is Bridge too: talks and meetings with international guests
- 2023CineGouna Market: booths for producers, distributors and funds, on the plaza
- 2024SpringBoard becomes CineGouna Funding; Bridge becomes CineGouna Forum
- 2026CineGouna Series, for Arabic TV drama writers, and Egyptian Voices, for early Egyptian projects
What the prizes were worth
Only the totals the festival announced.
- 2017 55,000 dollars in cash prizes to the first 16 projects, from 8 Arab countries; the top prize, 20,000 dollars, went to Two Rooms and a Parlor by Sherif Elbendary.
- 2019 Two prizes of 15,000 dollars for the best projects, and 65,000 dollars more from the Arab Cinema Center's partners.
- 2020 15,000 dollars each to the best project in development and the best film in post-production.
- 2021 More than 280,000 dollars across 20 projects.
Every line here is from the festival's own releases and at least one more report. Counts are from the festival's programmes.
The festival's name is used as plain text. goat grids is not part of El Gouna Film Festival.