When El Gouna Film Festival launched in 2017, the idea of a film festival in a purpose-built Red Sea resort town was still unproven. Nine editions later, co-founder Amr Mansi proudly looks at the festival’s growing industry section, an unprecedented number of Arab films, and a growing number of prominent guests. In between appointments, the former top athlete, entrepreneur and CEO found some time to talk with Lidanoir about what inspired the festival, the Egyptian audience’s unique connection to cinema, and what international stars he would most love to see at El Gouna.

Just about seven months Andrew Mohsen had to program his first edition of the El Gouna Film Festival. Boasting a record ten Arab titles, the lineup of 77 films places international festival fare from Sundance to Venice alongside emerging regional voices. On site at the scenic desert destination’s busy festival hub, Lidanoir spoke with the festival’s freshly appointed artistic director about what makes this edition stand out, the role of international stars, and what makes a film good for Gouna.

Already her powerful first feature Soft & Quiet earned Beth de Araújo a Grand Jury Award nomination at SXSW. Based on a personal traumatic childhood experience, her second film follows an 8-year-old girl, played by newcomer Mason Reeves, who becomes the key witness in a rape trial. After premiering at Sundance where it won both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Josephine is now screening in the Perlak section for festival highlights at San Sebastián. There the director-writer spoke with Lidanoir about the story’s autobiographical inspiration, rape culture, and shooting with co-star Channing Tatum and Mason.

Twelve years ago, his sarcastic thriller In Order of Disappearance made Hans Petter Moland an internationally known representative of Nordic noir. For his epic entrance into the San Sebastián Film Festival’s main competition, Growth of the Soil, he adapted Knut Hamsun’s Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same title into a monumental drama of humans’ struggle with nature and love. On the day of the premiere screening, the Norwegian director found time for a conversation with Lidanoir about bringing an eternal piece of Norwegian literature to the screen, shooting in the harsh landscape, and giving the allegorical story a modern veneer.

After presenting his first feature film Lake Tahoe in 2008 at San Sebastián and taking home the Golden Shell for Best Film for Club Sandwich five years later, Fernando Eimbcke is back at the renowned film festival for the fifth time with his newest work Moscas. Shot in stark black-and-white, the humorous tale follows a middle-aged loner as she makes friends with the young son of her sublessor. On site at the film festival, the prominent Mexican director talks with Lidanoir about updating a two-decades-old script for the story, what Shakira’s music has to do with its title, and the importance of festival prizes for independent productions.

Lav Diaz continues his prolific connection with the Venice Film Festival, where he won the Golden Lion in 2016 for The Woman Who Left, by returning to the current edition with his new feature film. Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors dives once more into Filipino history to excavate the painful heritage of Christian colonialism through missionary work. In the Palazzo del Cinema, which comes with its own problematic historical connections, the celebrated filmmaker opens up to Lidanoir about the past lingering in the present, facing a neglected chapter of history, and changes in his unique cinematic style.

The involuntary deception and white lies threatening to tear romantic and family bonds apart that play a key role in Michelle Zhou's intimate drama are all too familiar to her. In the most literal sense, since the Chinese director based the story of Big Little Things on her and her partner and producer Chun Yu's own experiences. On site at a rain-swept Venice where the queer romance premieres in the Orizzonti slate, Zhou and Yu talk with Lidanoir about bringing their personal struggle for love and acceptance to the screen, filmmaking as therapy, and the central role of queer cinema as an agent of social acceptance.

Only last year, her feature film debut won Anuparna Roy the Best Director award in the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. Now she returns to the same competitive slate with her ambitious sophomore work. Lovers in the Blue Night follows an ensemble cast of migrant workers as they strive for social acceptance, economic stability, and love in the working-class districts of Mumbai. Just ahead of the festival premiere, the Indian director sat down for an interview with Lidanoir about the importance of social realism as a central concept, displaying diversity through dialogue in different dialects, and openly showing female desire in a patriarchal society.

Her debut documentary Harlan County, USA marked Barbara Kopple as a fearless new perspective in non-fiction Film which she used timeless to stand against injustice and inequality. Fittingly, her second work American Dream made her the first female director to win an Oscar for Best Documentary. Union Town continues Kopple's involvement with workers' rights and the collective fight against repressive corporate tactics. Premiering out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, her gripping piece of cinéma vérité chronicles the struggle of gig workers and delivery agents against UPS and Amazon. In Venice posh hotel Excelsior, the filmmaker spoke with Lidnoir about her work in light of current US politics, the new wave of activities documentaries, and the importance of speaking out against repressive structures.

Dass er für seinen ersten Spielfilm nur ein A-List Festival in Frage kommt, stand früh für Manuel Wetscher fest - und gelang ihm auch mit einer Weltpremiere in Venedigs wichtigster Nebensektion Orizzonti. Dort erzählt Eklipse von einer Kinderfreundschaft Ende der 90er, als die Jahrtausendwende und eine totale Sonnenfinsternis biografische Wendepunkte markieren und. Familiengeheimnisse ans Licht bringen. Vor Ort im Palazzo del Cinema spricht der österreichische Regisseur mit Lidanoir über die autobiografische Inspiration der Geschichte, den Dreh nahe der Orte seiner Kindheit und das zentrale Motiv HIV in der damaligen und heutigen sozialen Wahrnehmung.