HURGHADA, Egypt, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has a chance of becoming the Cannes of the Middle East, Hollywood star and Golden Globe Award winner Dylan McDermott said in an interview with Xinhua during the event.
The week-long event that kicked off on Sept. 22 screens about 69 films from around 40 countries, including 16 feature films, 18 short films and 12 long documentaries, in addition to 19 films outside the official competition and four in a special program.
"I am here to support and bring some awareness to this festival and I think it has a real chance of becoming a very brilliant film festival especially in the Middle East," McDermott told Xinhua, hailing the gala's opening ceremony as "beautiful" and "pretty well done."
McDermott said that the distinguished participation and the neat organization seen in the first GFF qualify it to be as renowned in the Middle East as France's Cannes Film Festival in the world.
The ongoing first edition of the GFF is mainly founded and funded by Egyptian business tycoons Naguib Sawiris and his brother Samih Sawiris. The latter is the founder of El Gouna town, a two-decade-old Red Sea resort north of world famous Hurghada resort city, where the gala is held.
The new film festival gathers Egyptian, Arab and international stars and moviemakers including top Egyptian comedian Adel Imam, veteran Egyptian actress Yousra, Arab stars Hend Sabry and Hiam Abbass and Hollywood stars Forest Whitaker and McDermott, besides dozens of others.
