Special Al Jazeera Net -

Crisis Cycle, is the name given to the fifth session of the El Gouna Film Festival, which started on the fourteenth of this October, and will continue until the twenty-second of the same month.

Despite the presence of nearly 52 films from different countries of the world, the differences were the focus of attention for those in El Gouna.

don't back down

Hours ago, director Amir Ramses, artistic director of the El Gouna Festival, submitted his official resignation via the festival team’s e-mail, a news that was leaked to put the festival administration in an embarrassing position, and at a time when the festival organizers tried to contain the situation, Ramses insisted on resigning as It is scheduled to issue a statement from the organizers of the festival to clarify the circumstances of the matter, and accept the resignation to the satisfaction of all parties.

After Al-Tamimi, the festival director, was removed from the matter that he was busy with activities and had no idea of ​​​​resigning, and he did not believe that Amir Ramses would leave the festival in the middle of the road, but Ramses confirmed his resignation and that he would not back down, and the decision came as an objection to some organizational matters, and disagreements with Al-Tamimi, In addition to the latter's disputes with actress Bouchra Raza, head of operations in El Gouna.

human accident

In addition to the ongoing crises that the festival has faced over the past few days, the Egyptian actress, Bushra, was involved in a traffic accident while filming a scene that was for a song related to the festival, and it has not yet been confirmed about her ability to attend the closing ceremony on the twenty-second of October, due to her being subjected to medical supervision in a hospital. .

Withdrawal of channels

The resignation of the artistic director coincided with the crisis of the Egyptian film “feathers” directed by Omar Al-Zuhairi, and the latter was accused of deliberately distorting the image of Egypt, a crisis that arose after a number of artists withdrew during the screening of the film, including Ahmed Rizk, Ashraf Abdel-Baqi and Sherif Mounir, who attacked the film and accused him of insulting the reputation of Egypt.

Sherif Mounir's attack on the film did not go unnoticed, as the crisis escalated and the administrations of a number of satellite channels located in El Gouna to cover the events decided to withdraw permanently. Some Egyptian newspapers also announced banning coverage of the festival, led by Rose El Youssef magazine, where its editor-in-chief called for a boycott of the festival and the closing ceremony.

Despite the continued attacks on the film, the festival management awarded its director, Omar Al-Zuhairi, the award for the best Arab talent in the Middle East, presented by Variety magazine.

While receiving the award, Al-Zuhairi said that he presented the film for the sake of humanity, and was proud of receiving the award in Egypt and the Middle East. He thanked the Minister of Culture, Enas Abdel Dayem, for her support and honoring him, and said, "I am happy with the cinema that Egypt offers."

"number one"

The festival is not without crises that coincided with the attendance of the Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan at the opening ceremony, which was said at the time that he had not been presented in the appropriate way before he presented the song "Joe Girls" at the opening ceremony.

The host of the ceremony overlooked the introduction of Moroccan singer Redwan and composer Noaman Belayashi, which caused the anger of the latter.

This forced the festival management to issue an official statement of apology to the Moroccan people, saying, “The management of the El Gouna International Film Festival offers an official apology to the brotherly Moroccan people for not presenting the international star of Moroccan origin, Redwan, and Moroccan composer Noaman Belayashi, during the opening ceremony, and would like to clarify that what It was an unintended mistake in the preparation of the ceremony, and she regrets that this happened."

While businessman Naguib Sawiris responded to those objecting to Ramadan's attendance at the opening ceremony, saying, "Mohamed Ramadan enlightened us in El Gouna.. and those who are upset with his presence are Migish (and whoever does not like his presence..does not come to us)" in a special ceremony on the sidelines of the festival's activities.

fire and crises

The Plaza Theater, where the opening ceremony was held and a number of different events, was exposed to a massive fire one day before the opening, but the founders of the festival, Naguib and Samih Sawiris, succeeded in containing the crisis quickly by using the workers of their companies.

In addition to the dispute that erupted between the artist Yusra and the festival management after she rejected previous statements, Anzal Al-Tamimi said that the festival does not honor Yusra because she is in the advisory committee, and the latter criticized these statements, especially since the Tunisian actress Hind Sabri is also on the same committee, and her film has previously been shown, and honored as the best represented by the festival.

However, Al-Tamimi apologized to Yousra during the press conference held in El-Gouna before the opening night, but her rise to the stage on the opening night with Samih Sawiris confirmed that there was a strong dispute between Yousra and Al-Tamimi, and that there were attempts to please her.

It seems that internal disputes and misfortune haunt the El Gouna Festival this year, despite its administration's attempts to overcome the crises in various ways, but the effects of these problems imposed themselves on everyone, and added an atmosphere of frustration to the festival's organizers and attendees as well.