Scheduled from September 20 to 28, The Gouna Film Festival will screen a whopping 80 movies, ten more than last year. Here are a few picks from Friday’s screenings:
‘Yomeddine’ (The Day of Judgement)
This Egyptian film is the first by director Abu Bakr Shawky, and will be screened at 6:45 pm at the Marina Theater in the the feature film competition.
Yomeddine was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d’Or.
The 97 minute-long drama tells the story of Beshay, a healed man of leprosy who still has traces of the disease on his body, and lives in a colony that he never left.
Upon his wife’s death, Beshay decides to embark on a journey in the heart of Egypt in search of his roots, along with his donkey and Obama, an orphaned Nubian boy who refuses to be separated from Beshay wherever he goes. The two soon set out outside the colony for the first time to discover life, searching for hope, humanity and a sense of belonging.
The film stars Rady Gamal and Ahmed Abdel Hafiz, and is directed and written by Abu Bakr Shawky.
‘Weldi’ (Dear Son)
The Tunisian film “Weldi” will be screened at 10 pm in the Marina Theater.
It is directed by Mohamed Ben Attia, and was displayed at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film revolves around a father and a mother busy with the future of their only son, who is about to undergo secondary school examinations. Migraine attacks on the young man makes his parents anxious, and as he recovers, he suddenly disappears to join a jihadist group.
‘The Guilty’
This film from Denmark will be screened at 3 pm in the Audimax hall, outside the competition. The film is directed by Gustav Möller, starring Jakob Cedergren and Jessica Dinnage.
It revolves around a police officer who, on a working night, receives a call from a kidnapped woman.
‘The Freshmen’
This opening film of the festival will be re-screened at 9:15 pm in the Audimax Hall.
The French film is written and directed by Thomas Lilti, and stars Vincent Lacoste and William Lebghil.
“The Freshmen” also took part in the “Film by the Sea” festival, which takes place in the Netherlands in September of each year.
‘Mug’
As part of the feature films competition, this Polish winner of the Silver Prize will be screened at 6 pm, at C-Cinema 1. It is directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, who co-authors the film as well .
“Mug” about a man who is injured during work and undergoes a face transplant, and has to undergo several identity issues after the surgery.
‘The Cold War’
At 9 pm, “The Cold War,” which is also screened outside the competition, will be played at C-Cinema 1.
Directed by Pavel Pavlikowski, the film combines love and political themes of Europe in the middle of the 20th century. “The Cold War” follows lovers of different cultural backgrounds who meet during performance training, and continue their relationship in an oppressive atmosphere extending from the borders of Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia and France.
‘Happy as Lazzaro’
At 4:30 pm, this Italian film will be screened at C-Cinema 3, outside the feature films competition.
The award-winning picture revolves around a naive young peasant named Lazzaro, who forms a friendship with the less-naive Tancredi. When Tancredi disappears, Lazzaro sets out to find his unlikely friend.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm.
