El Gouna Film Festival announced today the winners of the NETPAC and FIPRESCI Awards during the closing ceremony of CineGouna, a platform for supporting and financing film projects. The ceremony honored Asian cinema and highlighted outstanding debut works within the festival’s official selection, while also announcing the winning projects in the development and post-production stages.
NETPAC Award:
The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia-Pacific Cinema) jury was comprised of Australian jury chair Dr. Anne Demy-Giroux, a film programmer, writer, and co-chair of NETPAC; Frenchman Jean-Marc Therouin, co-founder, executive and artistic director of the Vesoul International Asian Film Festival; and Egyptian director Hala Khalil.
During the awards presentation, Dr. Anne Demi-Giroux said, “Among the many exceptional films, the jury awarded two prizes: the Netpac Award for Best Asian Non-Fiction Film and the Netpac Award for Best Asian Feature Film.”
The award was received on behalf of the film’s team by its producer, Hansen Lin.
“Trapped is the directorial debut of both Tanushuri Das and Saumyananda Sahi. Das also edited, while Sahi wrote the screenplay and directed the cinematography.”
One of the directors, Saumyananda Sahi, accepted the award on behalf of the film’s team.
FIPRESCI International Critics’ Award:
The FIPRESCI Jury, affiliated with the International Federation of Film Critics, selected the Best First Film from the Official Feature and Feature Documentary Competition, as well as the Official Selection out of Competition. The jury consisted of Omnia Adel (film critic and programmer, Egypt), Pamela Cohen (artistic curator, writer, and creative consultant, Germany), and Ramachandran Bisharat (critic and writer, India).
The FIPRESCI Award was awarded to “Always” by Deming Chen.
In its statement announcing the award, the jury said: “The jury unanimously decided to award this magnificent film the FIPRESCI Prize. It was truly exciting to discover such a vibrant talent, a director who uses the poetic voice and sensitivity of his young protagonist to construct a story that resembles a prayer, an offering to the future. The story unfolds moment by moment through the director’s intimate and loving lens, with dedication, strength, commitment, and, above all, sheer visual and auditory beauty. The film speaks to us in multiple cinematic languages, coordinating and highlighting a range of craftsmanship and narrative mastery, in an epic journey that, while written in a minimalist manner, will remain in our memories for a long time. We are pleased to award the FIPRESCI Prize to “Always” by Deming Chen.”
Awards:
NETPAC Award for Best Asian Documentary: Always
USA, France, China, Taiwan
Director: Deming Chen Produced by: Hansen Lin
“For his stunning visual translation of poems written by a young boy from a rural village in China’s Hunan Province.”
NETPAC Award for Best Asian Feature Film: Trapped
India, France, United States, Spain
Director: Tanushuri Das and Saumyananda Sahi
Produced by: Naren Chandavarkar, Shaunak Sen, Aman Man, Saumyananda Sahi, Tilottama Shome, Dhir Mumia, Siddharth Mir, Dominic Wilensky, Isabelle Glashon, Prashant Nair, Anjali Patel, Anu Rangachar, Ishan Chandhok, Shruti Ganguly
FIPRESCI Award: Always
United States, France, China, Taiwan
Director: Deming Chen Production: Hansen Lin
El Gouna Film Festival congratulates all the filmmakers participating in the various competitions, wishing them further success in their creative journeys, and affirming its hope that these distinguished cinematic voices will continue their journey and influence on the global cinematic scene.
Published Oct 23, 2025
