El Gouna Film Festival and the Opportunity to Win $50,000 and Travel to Egypt 2019

El Gouna Film Festival is accepting cinematic productions from all countries of the world to be screened for its 3^rd edition that will be held from 19 to 27 September 2019 in El Gouna, located in the Red Sea Governorate, Egypt. The mission of the Festival is to showcase a diverse selection of films for a passionate and knowledgeable audience, and to foster better communication between different cultures through the art of filmmaking. Its goal is to connect filmmakers from the region with their international counterparts in the spirit of cooperation and cultural exchange through the presentation of the finest recent cinematic productions. 

Festival Categories:

1. Feature Narrative Competition
2. Feature Documentary Competition
3. Short Film Competition
4. Official Selection Out of Competition

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Only films completed after 15 November 2018 are eligible. Preference will be given to world and international premieres.
2. The minimum duration of a feature narrative film must be 65 minutes.
3. The minimum duration of a feature documentary must be 52 minutes.
4. The maximum duration of a short film must be 30 minutes.
5. Submissions will be accepted only from films that have not had a public screening in the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region in a theatre, television or on any Internet-based VOD platform.
6. All films must be in their original language and, where this language is other than English, the film must be subtitled in English.
7. All the films in competition with dialogues in a language other than Arabic will be electronically subtitled in Arabic, provided that the Festival receives the film’s spotting list and copy no later than 27 August 2019. If required, the Festival will cooperate with the producer or distributor of the film for the production and presentation of Arabic-language electronic subtitles.

Prize:

The Feature Narrative Competition:

1. El Gouna Golden Star for Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $50,000).
2. El Gouna Silver Star for Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $25,000).
3. El Gouna Bronze Star for Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and USD $15,000).
4. El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Narrative Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $20,000).
5. El Gouna Star for the Best Actor (Trophy and Certificate).
6. El Gouna Star for the Best Actress (Trophy and Certificate).
7. The cash award will be shared equally between the director and the main producer of the winning film.

The Feature Documentary Competition:

1. El Gouna Golden Star for Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $30,000).
2. El Gouna Silver Star for Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $15,000).
3. El Gouna Bronze Star for Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $7,500).
4. El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Documentary Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $10,000).
5. The cash award will be shared equally between the director and the main producer of the winning film.

The Short Film Competition:

1. El Gouna Golden Star for Best Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $15,000).
2. El Gouna Silver Star for Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $7,500).
3. El Gouna Bronze Star for Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and US $4,000).
4. El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Short Film (Trophy, Certificate and $US 5,000).
5. All prizes will be awarded to the director of the winning film.

Cinema for Humanity Audience Award:

Audience Award for a film that exemplifies a humanitarian theme (Trophy, Certificate and US $20,000). The cash award will be shared equally between the director and the main producer of the winning film.

Benefits and other funding:

1. The Festival will provide travel to and from El Gouna as well as up to six nights’ accommodation for the director of a film selected in any of the three competition sections. 
2. The festival may cover the costs of additional members of the crew for the films selected in the Feature Documentary competition and for the cast and crew for Feature Narrative competition.
3. The Festival will cover the shipping costs for the Digital Cinema Package of all selected films and will be responsible for customs clearance in Egypt.
4. The Festival will ensure the Digital Cinema Package of the films selected for screening at the Festival. 
5. In case of damage or loss of the screening package during the festival, it is only responsible for the cost of producing a new package based on current standard laboratory rates.

See more available competition and awards on For9a

See more available grants on For9a