Egyptian star Mona Zaki received an achievement award at the opening of the 9th El Gouna Film Festival, delivering an emotional acceptance speech about career fears while fellow artists and her family offered public tributes during the gala.
Mona Zaki Accepts Lifetime Achievement Honor at El Gouna Opening
The 9th El Gouna Film Festival opened its doors on October 15, 2026, at the Gouna Conference Center under the banner Cinema for Humanity: A Tale Archive
(El Gouna Film Festival 2026 opening details). The opening ceremony brought together regional and international filmmakers, officials, and press, anchored by a prominent tribute to Egyptian cinema icon Mona Zaki (CNN report on Zaki’s honor).
Director Mohamed Shaker Khodeir made a surprise appearance on stage to hand the creative achievement award to Zaki (Sout Al Omma coverage). Khodeir previously directed Zaki in the critically acclaimed Ramadan 2023 drama series Under Custody (CNN coverage). As colleagues rose to give her a standing ovation, Zaki accepted the honor celebrating a career spanning roughly three decades of portraying diverse characters and bringing Egyptian women’s stories to the screen (Al Jazeera report).
Zaki Reflects on Career Struggles and Youth in Acceptance Speech
Overcome with emotion on stage, Zaki reflected on the persistent fear that has accompanied her throughout her decades in the entertainment industry (CNN report). She offered advice directly to younger performers building their careers in film and television (CNN report).
🌟 Mona Zaki is getting one of El Gouna Film Festival’s biggest honors.The Egyptian superstar will receive the Career Achievement Award on October 15.Three decades — and still at the top. 👑 pic.twitter.com/bwi3qKo52j
Do not let fear control you, try to ignore it, and put it under your feet; because fear restricts.
Mona Zaki, via CNN
Zaki expressed profound gratitude to the directors, authors, and behind-the-scenes crew members who supported her through professional pressures and fatigue (CNN report). She also thanked her peers in the artistic community for catching her when she stumbled (CNN report). Grateful for this amount of love and support from everyone, thank you El Gouna Festival for the honor and making this night a special night for me,
she wrote in English on her official Instagram account (CNN report).
Family and Industry Tributes Pour In From Fellow Stars
While husband Ahmed Helmy missed the gala ceremony, he shared a video of the tribute on his Instagram stories accompanied by rows of heart emojis and the message Congratulations, my love (CNN report; Veto Gate report). Their eldest daughter, Lilly, sent an emotional voice message that played while her mother stepped up to collect the honor (CNN report).
Thank you to every woman who made us stand in front of her, believe her, and see life through her eyes… You are the most important person to me, I love you so much.
A wide circle of fellow actors extended congratulations across Egyptian media, including Hassan El Raddad, Yasmina El Abd, Riham Abdel Ghafour, Yasmine Abdel Aziz, Ghada Abdel Razek, Karim Abdel Aziz, Kinda Alloush, and Ghada Adel (Al Melnoujoum report; Veto Gate report). Veteran actress Elham Shahin, speaking with host Lamis El Hadidy on Al Nahar channel, recalled casting Zaki decades ago in her early television and film work, expressing immense joy at watching her evolve into a dominant generation star (Masrawy report). Meanwhile, actor Khaled El Sawy also praised Zaki’s career milestones on the festival red carpet (Akhbar El Yom report).
Festival Program Highlights and Opening Night Lineup
Aside from honoring Zaki, the festival recognized veteran Egyptian lighting technician Hassan El Sayed for a four-decade career shaping cinematic imagery through light and shadow (CNN report; Elnabaa report). Moroccan filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi also shares the creative achievement recognition during this ninth edition (Dar El Hilal report).
The opening gala featured a live musical performance directed by Egyptian composer Mohamed Nowara, followed by a dance performance and a surprise appearance by American-Egyptian soprano and singer Sherine Ahmed, who performed Helw Ya Balady
in Arabic for the first time (Elnabaa report; Al Jazeera report). The festival program presents 77 films across narrative feature, documentary, and short film competitions, alongside official out-of-competition selections and special programs (Elnabaa report). French narrative feature All About Corrine
(All About Corrine), directed by Marc Fitoussi and starring Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Kiberlain, was selected as the opening film (Al Jazeera report; Sout Al Omma report). Festival events and screenings continue in El Gouna through October 23, 2026 (CNN report). Executive Director Amr Mansi and Artistic Director Andrew Mohsen lead festival operations supported by corporate sponsors and Egyptian cultural ministries (Elnabaa report; Youm7 report).