Egyptian producer, director and mentor Marianne Khoury has been appointed artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival in a clear sign that the prominent Arab event is aiming to make an ambitiou…
in a clear sign that the prominent Arab event is aiming to make an ambitious comeback for its sixth edition following a one year hiatus.
Khoury will replace Amir Ramses who stepped down as El Gouna’s artistic director at the end of its fifth edition before the event took a one year pause. Ramses subsequently took the reins as artistic director of the Cairo Film Festival, which is Egypt’s oldest and preeminent film event. Khoury, who is the niece of late great Egyptian director Youssef Chahine, is a managing partner in prominent Cairo-based Misr International Films, which Chahine founded. She has directed several documentaries, most recently “Let’s Talk,” which premiered at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam in 2019 and interweaves a treasure trove of archive material with cinematic conversations between four women from different generations in her family.