Gaza Film Award Jury
Ahmed Shawky is an Egyptian film critic, programmer, and elected president of the international film critics federation (FIPRESCI). Publishing weekly articles about the cinema and entertainment industry. He has also published eight books on Egyptian cinema.
Shawky is also the president of Egyptian film critics association (EFCA). He is the head of CineGouna Funding, the industry program of El Gouna Film Festival.
He worked as an artistic director/programmer for many film festivals including Cairo, Malmo, Aswan, Tripoli, Mumbai, among others. He acted as jury in various festivals such as Locarno, Shanghai, Eurasia, Transylvania, Macao, Luxembourg, Oran, and Taipei. Shawky was the president of the Cannes film festival 2022 FIPRESCI Jury.
Gaby is the CEO of Misr International Films, a company founded in 1972 by the late, world-renowned Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine. Gaby oversees the company’s full spectrum of activities ranging from exhibition, production, distribution to production services. Over the past three decades, Gaby has been the main catalyst behind the growth of Misr International Films to the fully integrated film company it is today.
Since 1990, Gaby produced a wide variety of critically acclaimed films, documentaries and TV series alongside directors such as Youssef Chahine, Yusri Nasrallah, Atef Hetata, Khaled Youssef, Samir Habchi and Kamla Abou Zekri to name a few, which allowed him to gain recognition in the film industry. He also established and developed the company’s distribution and exhibition activities throughout the years, which cemented MIF’s position in the market.
Kinda Alloush is a Syrian actress based in Cairo who began her career in popular Syrian dramas. She graduated from the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts in Damascus and made her acting debut in 2005. Kinda has worked with notable directors across the Arab world including Chaouki Mejeri, Haitham Hakki, Sherif Arafa, Hatem Ali, Khaled Marei, Mohamed Yassin, and Marwan Hamed.
She starred in acclaimed series like Hedou’ Nesbi and films such as Hepta: The Last Lecture. Her role in Netflix’s The Swimmers garnered significant attention, ranking high in various Arab countries and earning a BAFTA nomination.
Kinda is also active in humanitarian efforts, particularly supporting refugees, which led to her inclusion in the UN Refugee Agency’s High Profile Supporters List. Beyond acting, she has served as an assistant director and participated in numerous film festival juries. Kinda continues to expand her filmography with upcoming projects, including the film Balaleen and the co-production Yellow Bus.