Hamaguchi Ryusuke, Pawel Pawlikowski Cannes Winners Among El Gouna’s First 10 Titles for Ninth Edition
El Gouna Film Festival has unveiled the first 10 titles for its ninth edition, running 15–23 October in the Egyptian Red Sea resort, with the line-up drawing heavily on prize-winners from this year's Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Karlovy Vary festivals. The selection blends established auteurs with first-time feature directors, headlined by Hamaguchi Ryusuke's Cannes best actress-winning "All of a Sudden" and Pawel Pawlikowski's "Fatherland", which took a shared best director prize at Cannes.
Hamaguchi's French-Japanese-German-Belgian co-production stars Virginie Efira as a nursing home director whose life changes after meeting a terminally ill playwright played by Okamoto Tao, while Pawlikowski's German-Polish-Italian-French film follows Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler as Erika and Thomas Mann on a post-war European road trip. Other titles include Poh Si Teng's Sundance documentary "American Doctor", about US doctors in Gaza; Joaquín del Paso's Berlinale prize-winner "The Garden We Dreamed"; Mads Mengel's Karlovy Vary-honoured debut "The Guest"; Myrsini Aristidou's Sundance audience award-winning "Hold Onto Me"; and Juliette Binoche-starring "Queen at Sea", directed by Lance Hammer, which won a Silver Bear Jury Prize at Berlin.
- El Gouna Film Festival names first 10 titles for 15–23 October edition.
- Line-up includes Cannes winners from Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Pawel Pawlikowski.
- Selection also features Juliette Binoche's Berlinale prize-winner "Queen at Sea".