(21 Sep 2018) LEADIN:
Egyptian and international film stars have graced the red carpet at a festival in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna.
It's the second time the El Gouna Film Festival has been held, drawing filmmakers from around the world.
STORYLINE:
The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has kicked off its 2nd edition in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna
Film stars, including Clive Owen, walked the red carpet and posed for photographs on the opening night.
The festival has chosen to showcase several films that were acclaimed and awarded at top class festivals like Cannes Film Festival and the Berlinale.
The line-up includes productions from Japan, Italy, Poland, Australia and Denmark among others.
Actress and GFF Chief Operating Officer, Bushra Rozza says: "The GFF has exceeded our expectations, when we started the whole idea we were working hard to achieve success but we never expected this level of success, I still can't believe that we reached the second year for the festival, but hard work is what makes us hope to reach bigger results every year."
According to GFF website, this year the festival will include 15 films in the featured narrative competition, 12 in the featured documentary competition, 23 in the short film competition, as well as 5 films in the GFF's special retrospective program.
The festival will be screening 25 films out of competition, which brings the total count to 80 titles - 10 more films than the first edition of the GFF.
El Gouna Film Festival is one of the leading festivals in the MENA region.
As well as film screenings, there are workshops with the objective of nurturing and strengthening promising Egyptian and Arab cinema projects.
El Gouna was founded by Egyptian businessman Samih Sawiris, the Chairman of Orascom Development.
He says the festival is a great promotion for Egypt.
Egypt's Tourism Minister, Rania Al Mashat agrees: "I think that such events and festivals when it happens frequently in the country is sending several messages. First is that the country is safe and secure and many of the international celebrities are seeing Egypt as a destination that should be visited and also it says that the Egyptian people are accepting all people."
El Gouna is located almost 470 kilometres from the capital Cairo, in Hurghada governorate.
The resort is known for its sunny beaches and lagoons and is a popular tourist destination.
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