The El Gouna Film Festival announced that the film “Yalla Nelab Askara” by Yemeni director Mariam Al-Dhabhani won a special award within the “Final Cut in Venice” program during the 82nd edition of the Venice International Film Festival. This program supports Arab and African film projects in post-production.

The El Gouna Film Festival award is valued at $5,000, in addition to an invitation for the film team to participate in the 8th edition of “Cine Gouna Film Support,” held alongside the El Gouna Film Festival from October 16 to 24.

Marian Khoury, the artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival, commented: “We are pleased to select this authentic and creative documentary from Yemen among the Cine Gouna film support projects. The film tells a moving story of the coming-of-age journey of four siblings during wartime, beautifully portraying daily life with its struggles, contradictions, and hope.”

The El Gouna Festival also announced its 8th edition film, “Happy Birthday,” directed by Sarah Johar, highlighting that this selection marks a strong and impactful start to this year’s cinematic journey, especially after the film’s great success at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won three prestigious awards: Best International Narrative Feature, Best International Screenplay, and the Nora Ephron Award for Best Director, which Johar received.

The film was co-written by Sarah Johar and Mohamed Diab (director of the films 678 and Clash). Diab also co-produced the film alongside Ahmed El-Dessouky, Ahmed Abbas, Ahmed Badawi, Datari Turner, and American actor and producer Jamie Foxx.

The cast includes Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawie, and the child actress Doha Ramadan.