El Gouna Film Festival: 'Amira' and 'Feathers' screen at the Egyptian cinema event

See the latest photos from the glittering red carpet

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  Egyptian director Sarrah Abdelrahman arrives for the screening of 'Feathers' at the 5th El Gouna Film Festival, in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of El Gouna, on October 17, 2021. All photos: El Gouna Film Festival; AFP

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  Algerian director Sofia Djama arrives for the screening of 'Feathers'

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  Tunisian actress Racha Ben Maouia arrives for the screening of 'Feathers'

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  Lebanese actor Nicolas Mouawad arrives for the screening of 'Feathers' at the film festival

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  Egyptian actor Amr Darwish arrives for the screening of 'Feathers' at the film festival

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  Egyptian actor Sherif Moneer arrives for the screening of 'Feathers'

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  Kuwaiti actor Dawood Hussain arrives for the screening of 'Full Moon' at the festival

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  Syrian actor Jamal Sulaiman arrives for the screening of 'Feathers'

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  German actress Marie Munz arrives for the screening of 'Full Moon' at the film Festival

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  From left, Egyptian actors Khaled Anwar, Ahmed El-Fishawi, and Khaled El Nabawy, director Hadi El Bagoury, and actress Yasmin Raeis, pose at the premiere of their film 'Full Moon'

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  Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak of 'Amira' poses on the red carpet

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  Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak of 'Amira' talks to the media on the red carpet

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  American film director Darren Aronofsky, right, speaks during a masterclass moderated by Teresa Cavina at El Gouna Conference and Culture Centre, as part of the film festival

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  American film director Darren Aronofsky speaks during a masterclass as part of the festival

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  Saudi TV celebrity Lojain Omran walks on the red carpet at the festival

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  Egyptian actor Hassan Abouelrouss poses on the red carpet

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  Egyptian actresses Dalia Shawki, left, and Mayan El Sayed pose on the red carpet

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  Syrian actress Nesreen Tafesh arrives for the screening of 'Amira'

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  Palestinian film producer May Odeh and jury member, wearing an outfit inspired by the Palestinian flag, arrives for the screening of 'Amira'

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  Egyptian director Mohamed Diab and his wife Sarah arrive for the screening of 'Amira'

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  Egyptian actress and model Tara Emad arrives for the screening of 'Amira'

Amira from Egyptian director Mohamed Diab was screened at El Gouna Film Festival on Tuesday night, with a few of the film's stars in attendance, including Saba Mubarak and Tara Abboud.

The feature film had its world premiere at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, where it competed in the Orizzonti competition. It is one of 16 films competing for the El Gouna Golden Star award for narrative film at the festival, which runs until Friday.

Set in Palestine, Amira is the story of a teenage girl who believes she was conceived with the smuggled sperm of her imprisoned father. But an emotional discovery leads to a search for her biological father and sense of identity.

Diab took the opportunity on stage to commend Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy for his film Feathers, which screened at the festival on Sunday and has caused controversy for painting Egypt in a negative light.

Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy looks on during an interview with Reuters about his film 'Feathers' at El Gouna Film Festival. Reuters

"Thank you to all of those who allowed this film to exist because the prize that it received should make Egypt proud. Omar is the first Egyptian director to win such a prize and this is Omar's first feature film," Diab said.

Feathers won the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week as well as the FIPRESCI prize at the same festival. It is competing as a part of El Gouna Film Festival's Feature Narrative Competition.

The surrealist black comedy tells the story of how a wife and mother copes when her authoritarian husband is turned into a chicken in an absurd magic trick. It portrays the plight of Egyptian women in the face of conservative traditions.

On Monday, Cinema in Concert, with an orchestra led by music composer Ahmed El-Saeedi, played classical scores from famous cinematic works, including Amadeus, Phantom of the Opera, The Pianist and Platoon, as well as The Night of Fatima’s Arrest by Egyptian composer Omar Khairat.

The Egyptian film Full Moon by director Hadi El Bagoury and starring Khaled El Nabawy, Ahmed El-Fishawi, Shereen Reda and Ghada Adel also screened as part of the festival’s official selection, out of competition.