El Gouna Film Festival supports MENA films during global pandemic

Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, the 4th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival went ahead this October, along Egypt’s Red Sea’s coast.

Following COVID-19 protocols, such as regular temperature checks and limited seat capacity for screenings, the festival spanned nine days.

One of the festival’s founders, Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, told Euronews’ Daleen Hassan that hosting the event this year was a signal of optimism for the filmmaking industry.

“The decision to do the festival was mainly based on the fact that we want life to go on,” he said. “It’s a message of hope, a message of happiness and a message of defiance – and cinema is all about that.”

The businessman goes on to say that despite the COVID-19’s challenges, humanity must challenge it.

“We say life must go on, or we surrender, and stay in a dark room with all the psychological problems we can get, lose our job, lose our economy,” he says. “What we try to do here, is to continue with our film festival to challenge COVID-19.”