Festivals

‘Safe Exit’ & 'Citizen Osama' Take Top Awards In El Gouna

Safe Exit scooped the Golden Star for best narrative feature, while Citizen Osama won both best documentary & best Arab documentary.

Liz Shackleton

24 Oct 2026 — 2 min read

Safe Exit

Egyptian filmmaker Mohammed Hammad’s Safe Exit won the Golden Star for best narrative feature at this year’s El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, while All The Lovers In The Night, from Japan’s Yukiko Sode, took the Silver Star.

Safe Exit follows a young Coptic security guard in Cairo dealing with the trauma of his parents’ murder in religious and ethnic violence. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Berlin film festival in the Panorama section.

All The Lovers In The Night, about a young freelance proofreader and her relationship with an older physics teacher, premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard. Ali Asgari’s A Bit Of Light, which premiered in Venice competition, took the Bronze Star for a narrative feature.

Best Arab film went to Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep, a debut feature from Palestinian filmmaker Rakan Mayasi, about a man whose sisters are traded to preserve peace after he accidentally kills a member of a rival clan.

Best Actor went to Jovan Ginić for his performance in Serbian drama 3 Weeks After, while Rakeen Saad took Best Actress for Jordanian crime thriller Boomah.

In the Documentary Competition, Ahmed Hassouna’s Citizen Osama, following a Gaza photojournalist, was awarded both the Gold Star and Best Arab documentary. The Silver Star went to Whispers In May, from China’s Chen Dongnan, a meditative portrait of a teenage girl living in the remote Liangshan Mountains.

Anders Davidsen’s Stolen Memories, about an 18-year-old discovering childhood photographs that lead to questions of the past, won the Golden Star for short film (see full list of award winners below).

This year’s El Gouna Film Festival (October 15-23) opened with French filmmaker Marc Fitoussi’s All About Corinne, starring Isabelle Huppert. It marked the first edition for artistic director Andrew Mohsen, replacing Marianne Khoury who stepped down from the post earlier this year.

UK director Joanna Hogg served as president of the jury, which also included Egyptian actress Nahed El Sebaie, Egyptian composer Khaled Hammad, Iraqi-Kurdish director Shawkat Amin Korki and Turkish director Yeşim Ustaoğlu.

Running alongside the festival, CineGouna Funding presented 23 feature projects in various stages of production, along with six episodic projects for the inaugural CineGouna Series.

In addition, the first Safe Harbour MENA, launched with the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and International Emerging Film Talent Association, brought four displaced filmmakers to participate in a programme of training, project development and industry networking.

EL GOUNA FILM FESTIVAL 2026 AWARD WINNERS:

FEATURE NARRATIVE COMPETITION:

Golden Star For Narrative Film: Safe Exit, dir: Mohamed Hammad

Silver Star For Narrative Film: All The Lovers In The Night, dir: Yukiko Sode

Bronze Star For Narrative Film: A Bit Of Light, dir: Ali Asgari

Best Arab Narrative Film: Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep, dir: Rakan Mayasi

Best Actor: Jovan Ginić, 3 Weeks After

Best Actress: Rakeen Saad, Boomah

Cinema For Humanity Award: American Doctor, dir: Poh Si Teng

Green Star Award: Nuisance Bear, dirs: Gabriela Osio Vanden & Jack Weisman