The 9th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) kicked off today, bringing together international filmmakers, prominent A-listers, and strategic industry partners from Egypt and around the globe to celebrate the launch of its 2026 edition.
Egyptian actress Yasmina El-Abd took the stage as the evening’s host, welcoming guests with a dynamic mix of live and pre-recorded segments. In her opening remarks, El-Abd reflected on the enduring power of cinema to freeze time and build a shared cultural legacy. “Cinema is more than just re-telling a story,” El-Abd noted, highlighting its crucial role as a living archive for future generations—a theme that directly echoes GFF’s official motto for this year: Cinema for Humanity: An Archive of Stories.
Opening Night Selection: Marc Fitoussi’s ‘All About Corrine’
GFF organizers announced that Marc Fitoussi’s French feature All About Corrine (Tout sur Corrine), starring Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Kiberlain, has been selected as the festival’s official opening night title.
The film follows Corrine Maclou (Huppert), a bit-part actress whose unyielding optimism far exceeds the size of her screen roles. Convinced that her big breakthrough is just around the corner, Corrine’s ambitions take a sharp turn when she crosses paths with established screen star Sandrine Kiberlain. What begins as a chance encounter quickly evolves into an unexpected friendship, posing the question: Can Corrine truly forge a place for herself within the elite ranks of French cinema?
All About Corrine makes its official festival premiere tomorrow, October 16, 2026, launching eight packed days of film screenings, masterclasses, industry panels, and exclusive networking events.
As one of the Middle East’s premier film gatherings, El Gouna Film Festival continues to champion diverse international storytelling, bridge cultural gaps between regional and global cinema, and foster emerging talent through its dedicated industry hub, CineGouna.
Live Musical Performance Led by Mohamed Nawara
The opening ceremony featured a live musical showcase conducted by Egyptian composer Mohamed Nawara, blending iconic Egyptian arrangements with international orchestral selections.
The evening concluded with a dance performance, followed by a surprise appearance by Egyptian-American soprano Shireen Ahmed, who delivered her first-ever Arabic-language performance with a rendition of the classic anthem “Helwa Ya Baladi.”
Special Honors: Veteran Gaffer Hassan El-Sayed Recognized
In a tribute to technical craftsmanship, GFF presented a Special Achievement Award to veteran Egyptian gaffer Hassan El-Sayed. Spanning over four decades, El-Sayed’s career includes seminal lighting work on acclaimed Egyptian cinema classics such as The Stolen Joy (Sareq Al-Joy), Searching for Sayed Marzouk, and Paradise of the Fallen Angels (Jannat Al-Shayateen).
The special honor was presented onstage by cinematographer and actor Sameh Selim.
Creative Achievement Award: Mona Zaki
Egyptian star Mona Zaki was honored with the festival’s prestigious Creative Achievement Award, celebrating a distinguished three-decade career that has brought countless compelling stories of Egyptian women to the big screen. The award was presented in a surprise appearance by director Mohamed Shaker Khodeir.
Zaki began her acting career at age 13 after auditioning for Mohamed Sobhi’s 1989 play In Plain Arabic (Bel Arabi Al-Faseeh). Her breakthrough theatrical performance led to key television roles in series such as The Family (Al-A’ila), Layali Al-Helmiya, and Zizinia.
Her major cinematic debut came alongside cinema icons Ahmed Zaki and Sanaa Jamil in 1998’s Laugh, the Picture Gets Better (Edhak El-Sora Tetla’ El-Helwa), followed by seminal late-90s box-office hits like An Upper Egyptian at the American University (Sa’eedi Fi Al-Gama’a Al-Amrekiya), First Love, and Why Did You Make Me Love You?.
Over the subsequent decades, Zaki expanded her dramatic repertoire through acclaimed auteur collaborations.
Throughout her career, Zaki has shared the screen with prominent talent across the Arab world, collaborating with legendary screenwriters like Waheed Hamed, Ahmed Mourad, and Tamer Habib, as well as directors Sherif Arafa, Yousry Nasrallah, Hani Khalifa, Marwan Hamed, and Kamla Abu Zekry.
Her accolades include Best Actress at the Damascus International Film Festival (2003), the Faten Hamama Excellence Award at the Cairo International Film Festival (2020), and Best TV Actress at the Egyptian Drama Awards (2023).
Essential Tone Notes: The text employs cinematic trade vocabulary (A-listers, box-office hits, auteur collaborations, bit-part actress, opening night title, seminal lighting work) matching the elevated editorial voice of The Hollywood Reporter.
Name Standardizations: Transliterated titles and names follow standard international film festival catalog conventions (e.g., CineGouna, Helwa Ya Baladi).
Published by: October 15, 2026.
