El Gouna Film Festival has selected five emerging filmmakers from across the Arab world for the third cohort of its Rising Stars program.
The group comprises Egyptian director Abdallah Dnewar, Saudi Arabian writer-director Razan AlSoghayer, Palestinian filmmaker Omar Rammal, Palestinian Jordanian director-producer Asmahan Bkerat and Syrian cinematographer, editor and director Rama Abdi.
Launched in 2024, Rising Stars is part of CineGouna Emerge, an initiative created to support the next generation of MENA film professionals. CineGouna Emerge sits within the festival’s wider CineGouna industry program, alongside its Forum talks, Funding project showcase, Market and new Series focus.
“This year’s Rising Stars are already leaving their mark, each in their own corner of the industry,” said Hayat Aljowaily, Director of CineGouna Emerge & International Engagement, who spearheaded the program.
Five Filmmakers Across Multiple Disciplines
Cairo-based Dnewar produced the Rotterdam-selected animated short My Brother, My Brother and the Locarno-selected Khufu. He has also served as a script consultant on several short films.
Dnewar is currently Head of Specials at Egyptian media company Zest, where he oversaw the Eish Short Film Competition. That competition was a joint initiative from El Gouna Film Festival and the United Nations World Food Programme.
AlSoghayer, who is based between Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands, builds her work around subjects including womanhood, memory, friendship, patriarchy and growing up in a society undergoing rapid change. Her stories draw on personal experiences and everyday life, with an emphasis on Saudi culture and the complexities surrounding change.
Her debut short, Son Of Badriyah, is playing at this edition of El Gouna Film Festival.
Rammal was born in the West Bank and works across digital storytelling and independent cinema. His visual work and human-centered stories have accumulated hundreds of millions of views across digital platforms.
In 2026, his film Everyday in Gaza won best short documentary at Italy’s David di Donatello awards. His debut fiction short, Kentucky Gaza, is making its MENA premiere at El Gouna after debuting in the International Competition at Clermont-Ferrand in France. Rammal is also developing his first feature film.
Bkerat’s filmmaking examines displacement, identity and cultural heritage. Her debut feature documentary, Concrete Land, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and received the Insights Audience Award at VIFF in Vancouver.
The documentary recently drew sold-out screenings at the BFI London Film Festival and is continuing on a festival tour that includes Dok Leipzig, IDFA and Doha. Bkerat is also producing the feature documentaries If These Stones Could Talk and Landwards, while beginning early production on her next feature as a director.
Damascus-based Abdi started her filmmaking career in 2018, working as a camerawoman and director across commercial, journalistic and cinematic productions. She directed her first short, Fish Dance, in 2022.
Abdi is now making her first feature-length documentary, House Number 7. She is presenting the project through the CineGouna Funding showcase.
Rising Stars Embedded in the Festival
The five participants will meet industry leaders and join El Gouna’s main activities, including panel discussions, media engagements and red-carpet appearances. The program is designed to increase the visibility of filmmakers whose work has already reached festivals, audiences or development platforms.
Aljowaily described the initiative as recognition rather than a starting point for its participants.
“What we offer them is not a beginning, but a moment of recognition: a chance to be seen, to be heard, and to find one another,” she said. “Our role is simply to bring them into the same room, and into the light, at a moment when their work is ready to be seen.”
El Gouna Film Festival Co-Founder and Executive Director Amr Mansi connected the program to the international reach of stories from the region.
“We need to ensure that stories from this region are shared with the rest of the world,” Mansi said. “We strongly believe that our participants will be the dominant voice in telling these stories.”
Artistic Director Andrew Mohsen also stressed that Rising Stars is integrated into El Gouna rather than operating as a separate showcase. He noted that several participants have projects being pitched through CineGouna Funding or films connected to the festival’s official selection.
“The program recognizes talent we are already invested in, and whose work we have watched grow from one edition to the next,” Mohsen said.
ShowBiz Take
The third Rising Stars cohort reflects a program focused on filmmakers with active projects rather than purely prospective talent. This year’s participants arrive with shorts screening at El Gouna, a documentary being presented for funding, award recognition and feature projects at different stages of production or development.
That connection between recognition and practical festival participation gives the initiative its significance. The five filmmakers are not only being introduced to industry figures; their current work is also embedded in El Gouna’s screenings, project showcase and broader professional program.
What Happens Next?
During the festival, Dnewar, AlSoghayer, Rammal, Bkerat and Abdi will take part in the Rising Stars schedule and El Gouna’s wider activities. Beyond the event, Rammal is developing his first feature, Bkerat is producing two documentaries and beginning another directorial feature, and Abdi is continuing work on House Number 7.