Tribute to Said Taghmaoui at the El Gouna Film Festival

The 4th edition of the “El Gouna” Film Festival began its activities on Saturday in Hurghada, north-eastern Egypt, paying tribute to several Arab and foreign artists, including Moroccan actor Said Taghmaoui. At the opening ceremony of the festival, Egyptian film star Khaled El Nabawy awarded the “Omar Sharif Prize” to Moroccan international actor Said Taghmaoui, in recognition of his rich film career. A video capsule was screened for the occasion, retracing the journey of the Moroccan actor, also a writer and screenwriter, who has participated in numerous films in France and the United States.

On this occasion, Taghmaoui expressed his joy to receive this distinction, especially since he was one of the great admirers of the late Omar Sharif, noting that he had the opportunity to work with him within the framework of ‘a feature film. The opening ceremony was also marked by the screening of the film “The man who sold his back”, by Tunisian director Kawthar Ben Hania, which was screened in preview at the Venice Film Festival.

The film “Mika” by Moroccan director Ismail Ferroukhi is in the running for the official competition of the festival (October 23 – 31), in the feature films category, alongside 15 other films, including “Where are you going, Aida? ” by Bosnian director Jasmila bani, who had participated in the official competition of the 77th Venice Film Festival, and the film “The Guardian of Gold” by Australian director Roderick MacKay. The list also includes the film “Bad Stories” by Italian director Damiano D’Innocenzo, which had its international premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear award. for the best scenario.

Morocco will also participate in the activities of the “CineGouna Platform” which constitutes a laboratory for the development of cinematographic projects and co-productions, offering Arab filmmakers and producers the possibility of finding the necessary technical and financial support. Morocco will be represented at this event by the film “A White Lie” by Asma Elmoudir (documentary films), and “La vie me va very bien” by El Hadi Oulad Muhand (authors’ films). The festival program includes three official competitions (fiction feature films, documentary feature films and short films), as well as the official out-of-competition program and the special program. This 4th edition, the prizes of which are endowed with a reward of more than 200,000 dollars, will see the screening of 65 most recent Arab and international films.