The ninth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival opened on October 15, 2026, gathering an international array of films across narrative, documentary, and short competitions. As screenings unfold in the Red Sea resort town and through Cairo’s Zawya Cinema initiative, the festival highlights urgent regional stories, trauma, and displacement.
Safe Exit Leads Egyptian Feature Competition in El Gouna
Among the domestic entries, the Egyptian feature Safe Exit stands as the sole Egyptian film competing in the narrative feature competition. Directed by Mohamed Hamad and produced by Kholoud Saad, the film centers on Saman, a young Coptic security guard in downtown Cairo who nurtures ambitions of publishing his first novel while coping with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder following the murder of his father by extremists during his childhood.
The film’s journey extends well beyond its October 20 screening at the El Gouna Conference and Culture Center. Having premiered globally at the Berlin International Film Festival, Safe Exit has traveled across four continents, stopping at festivals in Shanghai, Milan, Cologne, Rio de Janeiro, and Belgrade. It also secured a nomination for best screenplay at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, commonly known as the Asia Oscars, with the winners set to be announced on October 30, 2026, in Gold Coast, Australia.
Gaza and Regional Conflict Documentaries in Competition
Documentary and feature selections bring urgent geopolitical realities directly into the festival’s program. Citizen Osama, directed by Ahmed Hassouna as a Palestinian-French coproduction, tracks journalist Osama Al-Ashi over 12 months of war in Gaza, documenting the daily dangers of reporting amid shortages and constant threats.
The documentary An American Doctor follows three American physicians, including a Palestinian doctor, entering Gaza to save lives under extreme conditions before returning home to share their accounts. Meanwhile, the documentary Who Killed Alex Odeh? revisits the unsolved 1985 assassination of the Palestinian-American activist in the United States, examining the lingering questions of justice and memory.
The festival’s international documentary and narrative slates also feature compelling works addressing historical and social upheaval. Joining the international lineup is 3 Weeks After from Serbia, directed by Miroslav Terzić, which traces the shifting dynamics among a group of school students stranded away from home following a bus incident and the suicide of a classmate.
Cairo Audiences Experience Festival Selections Through Zawya Cooperation
Extending the festival’s reach beyond the Red Sea, the El Gouna in Zawya initiative marks its fourth year of collaboration with Zawya Cinema in Cairo. Running from October 17 to 22, 2026, the program presents seven curated films from the festival’s ninth edition slate to audiences in the capital.
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The Zawya lineup features international titles alongside regional works, including Pawel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland, Markus Schleinzer’s Rose, and Karim Kassem’s Chtaïby, which explores water scarcity in a Lebanese village.
Short Films and Experimental Works Shape the Competition
The short film and documentary categories introduce distinctive stylistic experiments. Confusion, directed by Maryam Abdel Gaber and starring Rakeen Saad, follows a young store cashier who encounters a mysterious envelope from an elderly customer. Jade Shahin’s short film The Malignant deals with a fisherman in an Egyptian village facing an afflictive outbreak affecting women.
Other documentary features include Amir El-Shenawy’s Captain Cabbonga’s Return, following amateur wrestlers in Ismailia against the backdrop of economic strain, and Mohamed Mostafa’s Men Don’t Cry, exploring the insular world of nightclub security guards and bodybuilders. The festival runs through October 23, 2026.
