Cinegouna Rising Stars honour and celebrate filmmakers whose cinematic language is shaping, and will continue to shape, the region’s film landscape.
El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has announced the 2025 selection of CineGouna Rising Stars, celebrating a group of visionary filmmakers who are changing the cinematic landscape of the Arab world and Africa. Curated by the festival team, the initiative honours emerging talents whose distinctive voices and visual languages are shaping the future of regional cinema.
Introduced during GFF’s seventh edition, CineGouna Rising Stars underscores the festival’s commitment to nurturing creative excellence and supporting filmmakers throughout their artistic. This year’s honorees all have works represented within the festival—whether in competition, out of competition, or as part of the CineGouna Funding platform—reaffirming GFF’s dedication to championing Arab and African voices across all stages of filmmaking.
The 2025 CineGouna Rising Stars include a diverse lineup of creators from across the region. Tunisian filmmaker Amel Guellaty, whose debut short Black Mamba (2017) screened at over 60 festivals and won 20 awards, continues her ascent with her first feature Where the Wind Comes From, which premiered at Sundance 2025.
Mariam Al-Dhubhani, a Yemeni-Russian journalist, filmmaker and educator, is known for amplifying human stories from conflict zones. A two-time TEDx speaker and a pioneer in virtual reality storytelling, she is currently completing her debut feature Let’s Play Soldiers, which has been showcased at IDFA, Cannes and Venice.
Egyptian director Sameh Alaa, winner of the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film with I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face (2020), continues to make waves internationally. His acclaimed shorts have screened at TIFF and major global festivals, and he is now developing his debut feature film.
Sarah Goher, an Egyptian-American filmmaker and NYU Tisch alumna, brings experience from major productions such as Cairo 678, Clash, Amira, and Marvel’s Moon Knight. Her directorial debut Happy Birthday premiered at Tribeca 2025, winning Best International Feature, Best Screenplay, and the Nora Ephron Award.
Representing Lebanon and France, Valentin Noujaim is an experimental filmmaker and artist known for his La Défense trilogy, exploring urban collapse and memory. His works have been exhibited at MoMA, CPH:DOX, and IFFR. He is currently developing his first feature, Asaa.
Jordanian-Palestinian filmmaker Yassmina Karajah, whose short Rupture (2018) won Slamdance’s Grand Jury Prize, recently premiered her latest short Ambush at TIFF 2025. She is developing her debut feature set in Amman, delving into themes of belonging and displacement.
From Egypt, Yomna Khattab is a filmmaker and educator whose debut documentary 50 Meters premiered at CPH:DOX 2025. Her feature script Rokaya won the 2018 Sawiris Cultural Prize, and she currently heads the Jesuit Film School in Upper Egypt while developing her next documentary I Have Other Friends.
As part of the CineGouna Forum, the Rising Stars will engage in a panel discussion titled Meet the Rising Stars: New Scene on October 21 at 11 AM, moderated by Hayat Aljowaily. The conversation will explore the evolving landscape of Arab and African cinema, the relationship between personal storytelling and collective identity, and how emerging filmmakers are using cinema to imagine bold, new futures.
Amr Mansi, Executive Director of El Gouna Film Festival, said: “These filmmakers embody the kind of talent GFF is proud to champion, artists who are pushing boundaries and redefining Arab cinema for a global audience. Through them, we see a future where Arab and African storytelling expands its borders while remaining deeply rooted in its truths.”
Marianne Khoury, Artistic Director of El Gouna Film Festival, added: “The Rising Stars programme is not just a celebration of these voices, it is about bringing them together into a constellation. These filmmakers remind us that cinema is not only about representation, but revelation. Their courage to imagine otherwise is what keeps our collective narrative alive.”
Hayat Aljowaily, Program Director of CineGouna Emerge, stated: “I’m deeply proud of this cohort. Each of them carries an emotional truth that feels both intimate and boundless. Their work reminds us that cinema can still surprise us, move us, and open new ways of seeing. Their cinema does not merely reflect the world; it questions it, refracts it, and reimagines it.”
