Programmer, El Gouna Film Festival; head of programme, Zawya Cinema
In 2011, Mouwafak Chourbagui joined the team of The Panorama of the European Film, an annual event in Cairo that showcases award-winning narrative and documentary features from across Europe. The Panorama was founded in 2004 by Marianne Khoury, managing partner at prominent Cairo-based producer, distributor and exhibitor Misr International Films and the new artistic director of El Gouna Film Festival.
“I have learned a lot from working with Marianne and [former El Gouna director] Intishal Al-Timimi,” says Chourbagui, who has been programming The Panorama since 2018 at the Misr-owned arthouse Zawya Cinema and has been part of El Gouna’s programming team since the festival launched in 2017.
Last year’s edition was particularly challenging for the team, as the festival was postponed twice in October before unfolding in late December. “In Egypt we are surrounded by two horrible situations in neighbouring Gaza and Sudan,” says Chourbagui. “It hasn’t always been easy to find the motivation to disconnect and focus on the job.
“El Gouna has several programmers and we don’t all have the same tastes and sensitivities,” he adds, “but we all agree it’s crucial to have films from different parts of the world, different formats and genres.”
The 2023 edition screened a range of titles from Anatomy Of A Fall to more arthouse fare like eventual El Gouna winner In Our Day by Hong Sangsoo. For scouting, Chourbagui prefers to focus on the smaller sidebars at the major festivals, including Berlinale Forum and Critics’ Week at Cannes.
Travel, meeting fellow cinephiles and having the privilege of watching films are what Chourbagui loves best about his role.
Contact: Mouwafak Chourbagui
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