Egyptian actress Laila Eloui spoke about the challenges she faced during her experience as the head of the feature film jury at the eighth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival, which concluded last Friday.

In a television interview , Eloui explained that the jury had hoped to award prizes to a large number of female actors, but the surprise was that most of the films featured male leads, with only three films having a strong female presence.

She also noted that the biggest challenge was not just the large number of films submitted, but the diverse nationalities and backgrounds of the jury members, which made reaching a mutual understanding a complex task. She added: “The films belonged to multiple cultures and artistic schools, and achieving a balance and general consensus required significant time and effort.”

Highlights of the El Gouna Film Festival Awards

The festival concluded with the announcement of the winners in the feature film category:

• El Gouna Golden Star: Shaer
• Silver Star: Law El Mahzouz
• Bronze Star: Egyptian film Al Mostaamara

In the Arab feature film category, the Tunisian film Wen Yakhodna El Reeh was awarded Best Arab Feature Film.

For the short film competition, the awards were as follows:

• Golden Star: Agapito
• Silver Star: Loins
• Bronze Star: Girl of the Water

Additionally, the Lebanese film Al Shaitan Wal Darraja won Best Arab Short Film.