27 red carpet photos from the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt

The event will showcase 63 films across five categories

Egyptian actress Tara Emad walks the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of El Gouna. AFP

Egyptian model and television celebrity Enjy Kiwan walks the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of El Gouna. AFP

Jordanian actress Mais Hamdan walks the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the of El Gouna Film Festival. AFP

Egyptian actress Arwa Gouda wears a protective mask against the coronavirus as she walks the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival. AFP

Egyptian actor Asser Yassin, his wife Kenzy Abdallahi and their children walk the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival. AFP

Egyptian actress Huda el Mufti, left, and Sara al Tounsi walk the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival. AFP

Syrian actress and producer Jumana Murad accompanied by her husband, walk the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival. AFP

Lebanese actress Stephanie Saliba walks the red carpet of the El Gouna Film Festival at the Red Sea resort of El Gouna in southern Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Lebanese actress Darina Al Joundi arrives to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Egyptian actress Amina Al Khalil arrives to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Lebanese actress Stephanie Saliba arrives to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

French Moroccan actor Said Taghmaoui arrives to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Lebanese directors Lucien Bourjeily, left, and Farah Shaer arrive to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Egyptian actress Huda El Mufti walks the red carpet of the El Gouna Film Festival at the Red Sea resort of El Gouna.

French-Moroccan film director Ismael Ferroukhi and producer Lamia Chraibi walk the red carpet of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Jordanian actress Jumana Morad and her husband Rabi Beisaiso walk the red carpet of the El Gouna Film Festival at the Red Sea resort of El Gouna.

Enjy Kiwan arrives to the opening ceremony of the 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt.

Tunisian director Anissa Daoud arrives to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival.

Tunisian actress Sarah Hannachi arrives to the opening ceremony of the 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Egyptian actress Laila Elwi arrives to the opening ceremony of 4th El Gouna Film Festival, in El Gouna, Egypt on October 23, 2020.

Egyptian actress Shereen Reda arrives to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Egyptian actress Arwa Gouda arrives to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Egyptian actress Rania Youssef arrives to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Jordanian actress Mai Selim arrives to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Egyptian actress Bushra Rozza arrives to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Egyptian actor Samir Sabri arrives to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

Syrian actress Kinda Alloush and Amr Youssef arrive to the opening ceremony of the El Gouna Film Festival.

The fourth El Gouna Film Festival is now under way in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of El Gouna with tight Covid-19 safety measures in place. Running until Saturday, October 31, the festival will showcase 63 films across five categories, a slightly smaller selection compared to past years.

The event had its opening night on Friday, October 23, with celebrities attending this year’s red carpet. Social distancing was maintained as stars were all kept spaced apart.

The festival's new venue, the Gouna Conference and Culture Centre, will host some of the festival’s activities for the first time.

After months of restrictions on large gatherings across Egypt, festival organisers promised fans a safe experience amid the pandemic. Screening halls are only allowed to be half full, resulting in a larger number of halls available, while the schedule has been designed to allow thorough sanitisation between each event.

At a press conference this month, festival director Intishal Al Timimi said that a large part of CineGouna, the festival’s bustling industry platform, will be made available online. “Instead of the opportunity to connect 150 people, this year, there will be 500 people available for discussion via virtual interaction,” he said.

Sixteen films will compete in the Feature Narrative Competition, including the festival's opening picture The Man Who Sold His Skin, written and directed by Tunisian filmmaker and scriptwriter Kaouther Ben Hania.

Another film in this year's competition is Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh's debut feature 200 Metres, which also had its premier in Venice. The film sheds light on the traumatic but familiar ordeal of crossing borders, following Mustafa – played by Ali Suliman of Paradise Now – as he makes a risky journey to unite with his family who are only 200 metres away. The film won the BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas People's Choice Award at Venice.