Art & Culture

Seven Rising Arab Filmmakers to Watch Out For

BYYassine Hariss

October 30, 2025

Yesterday shapes today, and today builds the way for tomorrow, and cinema works in the same way. At this year’s El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), that continuity was on full display. While much of the attention was on the filmmakers defining the present, what was equally exciting was the focus placed on what comes next—read: the big names of cinema tomorrow— most notably through the CineGouna Rising Stars program.

Now in its second edition, the initiative brings together “a group of visionary filmmakers whose voices are redefining the contours of Arab and African cinema.” This year, the festival’s programming team hand-selected a cohort of seven promising talents behind cameras who they believe will be key industry figures in a few months or years from now. Spanning different nationalities and backgrounds, they represent, in the words of Marianne Khoury— the festival’s Artistic Director— how “cinema is not only about representation, but revelation,” and that “their courage to imagine otherwise is what keeps our collective narrative alive.”

Below, get to know seven rising Arab filmmakers quietly shaping the future of cinema, and doing it on their own terms.

Sarah Goher (Director and Producer – Egypt)

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What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

I am humbled, in every sense of the word, to have even been considered a rising star through GFF’s Cinema Gouna Emerge. I’ve worked in film and television before in different capacities, but directing has been the one experience that’s made me feel both the most vulnerable and the most powerful as an artist.

Being able to reflect on this journey in a way that might help others feels incredibly important. I truly believe in giving back to my community—by sharing my story, the stories of those around me, and by offering myself as a resource to anyone with a project or idea that deserves to see the light of day. I couldn’t be more grateful.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

Accessibility and education in film and the industry are essential. We need more mentors and more incubators that can support young filmmakers and their scripts. The more young people are able to shape their ideas into written stories, the more likely they’ll be able to create stronger, more impactful films.

At the same time, the market itself needs to catch up. Young people’s habits, tastes, and the way they consume content are evolving faster than the infrastructure designed to support them. Until that gap closes, much of their potential risks being overlooked.

What does success look like to you in 10 years from now?

I want to see more trial and error. I want to see films people never imagined would reach a local cinema actually make it to the big screen. I’d love to see the stories producers wouldn’t normally gamble on financially be given a leap of faith.

In the long term, it’s a win for everyone. The more we experiment and step outside our comfort zone, the more we’ll push for real progress and growth. That’s how we’ll see a new kind of Arab cinema—one that prioritizes our needs, our voices, and our appetite for new stories.

Eventually, global platforms and audiences will pay attention. But first, we have to do us, and the rest will follow.

Yomna Khattab (Director; Egypt)

What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

To reflect on my own work process and to get the chance to discover other rising stars’ processes. It is a good opportunity to collectively be able to take time to share our thoughts, challenges, and hopes for the Arab film industry in the coming years. I am also hoping to share the first steps I am taking in developing my new project.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

The main barriers now for emerging filmmakers is the financing system of their independent projects. The cycle itself creates lots of challenges aside from the need of five years at least to secure the financing of your film. It became harder with this system to find your own authentic voice. You find your pitching voice and performative narrative of your story, and sometimes you get lost along the way of what you really want to tell. Also this system asks for a very high level of resilience. Emerging filmmakers are asked to be resilient, accepting rejections, and working hard for years to bring their stories to life.

What does success look like to you in 10 years from now?

Not to stop learning and experimenting. That’s success for me. Not to fear trying new things in writing and filmmaking. Play with my camera, tell new kinds of stories and experiment working with new people at new places without being stuck in any self image of my own-self.

Valentin Noujaïm (Filmmaker and Artist; Lebanon/France)

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What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

To find new allies — filmmakers and producers who see cinema not as an industry, but as a language of resistance and imagination.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

To film from fracture. Whether we live inside or outside the region — or from the diaspora, like me — we face unstable infrastructures: political, financial, and symbolic. The challenge is to turn that instability into a cinematic language.

What does success look like to you in 10 years from now?

To sustain a radical practice — one that resists simplification, moves freely between art and cinema, and allows me to keep making films with freedom, the right people, and enough means to tell stories that truly inspire me.

Mariam Al-Dhubhani (Journalist, Filmmaker, Curator, and Educator; Yemen)

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What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

It’s an incredible honor to be recognized as a Rising Star. Personally, I hope this moment gives me that extra push to keep going, to continue growing in my craft and to trust the path I’m on. Filmmaking can be a lonely journey, especially now as I reach the post-production phase of my first feature documentary. Coming from Yemen, where independent filmmaking faces so many barriers, every step requires persistence, from learning the craft, to finding supportive collaborators, to fundraising for a sensitive story with care and responsibility.

So this recognition feels like a badge of honor, a reminder that the work matters, that I’m here, and that I’m ready to make noise by sharing my perspective and stories from Yemen with the world.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

Breaking through to the right platforms is one of the toughest challenges. It takes time to understand the industry; how it works, where your stories fit, and how not to rush from one stage to the next. Starting with documentary filmmaking has taught me patience; it’s a long, looping process of researching, filming, editing, and doing it all over again. For emerging filmmakers, it’s about finding the right collaborators, the right spaces that understand your vision, and the means to bring it to life. It demands resilience, patience, and a deep belief in the story you’re telling.

What does success look like to you in 10 years from now?

For me, success isn’t just about awards or festival buzz, it’s about creating a lasting body of work that stands the test of time. I want my films to serve as living documents of my people and their realities, both for the present and the future. In Yemen, we don’t have a cinema industry or formal film education, so each filmmaker’s effort becomes a seed for something bigger. In ten years, I hope to look back and see that my work has helped plant those seeds, contributing to the growth of a cinematic culture and inspiring the next generation of Yemeni storytellers.

Amel Guellaty (Screenwriter, Director, and Photographer; Tunisia)

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What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

What I love most about this kind of program is the people you meet, those you share the selection with, who are often going through the same stages, the same ups and downs. They become your friends and partners for the future. And that’s what always stays with you.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

Financing! Financing everywhere in the world but especially in the Arab world is a struggle. Films are expensive, and even though culture is obviously essential to us, for representation, for identity, and also as an industry that creates jobs, it remains largely neglected. The Arab world has an incredibly rich heritage, a diversity of languages, landscapes, and stories that deserve to be seen and heard. Yet, despite this immense potential, cultural projects are too often treated as secondary, rather than as a powerful tool for shaping narratives, fostering understanding, and building economies.

What does success look like to you in 10 years from now?

Success in 10 years means Arab films that shake the world, celebrated at major festivals, marking a strong presence in Arab cinema, recognized internationally, yet deeply supported by Arab audiences.

Yassmina Karajah (Screenwriter and Director; Jordan/Palestine)

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What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

A real sense of community that represents the next wave of Arab cinema. I want to connect with filmmakers who challenge and inspire me, people I can learn from, collaborate with, and grow alongside.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

Censorship, both politically, and the kind we quietly impose on ourselves. The second one’s more dangerous because it’s invisible. To create truthfully, we have to be brave enough to say what we really mean. That kind of courage needs a collective effort. a space where honesty in storytelling is not just allowed, but protected.

What does success look like to you ten years from now?

A steady, fulfilling rhythm of making films that matter. Stories rooted in our local truth but told with a global pulse. Staying curious, staying teachable, and never losing that hunger to explore as an artist.

Sameh Alaa (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer; Egypt)

What do you hope to take away from being a Rising Star?

I hope to build meaningful connections, learn from industry mentors, and gain insights that help me grow both creatively and professionally as a filmmaker.

What do you think is the toughest barrier for emerging filmmakers in the region today?

Access to funding and distribution opportunities remains a major challenge — especially for independent voices trying to tell authentic, local stories.

What does success look like to you in 10 years from now?

Success means creating impactful films that resonate globally while nurturing new talent and helping to strengthen the regional film industry.

Seven Rising Arab Filmmakers to Watch Out For

Yomna Khattab (Director; Egypt)

Valentin Noujaïm (Filmmaker and Artist; Lebanon/France)

Mariam Al-Dhubhani (Journalist, Filmmaker, Curator, and Educator; Yemen)

Amel Guellaty (Screenwriter, Director, and Photographer; Tunisia)

Yassmina Karajah (Screenwriter and Director; Jordan/Palestine)

Sameh Alaa (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer; Egypt)

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Seven Rising Arab Filmmakers to Watch Out For

Yomna Khattab (Director; Egypt)

Valentin Noujaïm (Filmmaker and Artist; Lebanon/France)

Mariam Al-Dhubhani (Journalist, Filmmaker, Curator, and Educator; Yemen)

Amel Guellaty (Screenwriter, Director, and Photographer; Tunisia)

Yassmina Karajah (Screenwriter and Director; Jordan/Palestine)

Sameh Alaa (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer; Egypt)

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