Cinema of Egypt

The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing film industry based in Cairo, sometimes also referred to as Hollywood on the Nile.^[5] Since 1976, the capital has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.^[6] There are an additional 12 festivals. Of the more than 4,000 short and feature-length films made in MENA region since 1908, more than three-quarters were Egyptian films.^[7][8][9] Egyptian films are typically spoken in the Egyptian Arabic dialect.

Egyptian Cinema
No. of screens	221 (2015)^[1]
• Per capita	0.4 per 100,000 (2010)^[1]
Main distributors	The Trinity: (Nasr - Oscar - El Massah) Cinema Masr Sphinix Studio Masr^[2]
Produced feature films (2005–2009)^[3]
Total	42 (average)
Number of admissions (2015)^[4]
Total	9,561,000
Gross box office (2015)^[4]
Total	$267 million

History

Beginnings

 

Poster for the Egyptian film Yahya el hub (1938).

A limited number of silent films were made in Egypt beginning in 1896; 1927's Laila was notable as the first full-length feature. Cairo's film industry became a regional force with the coming of sound. Between 1930 and 1936, various small studios produced at least 44 feature films. In 1936, Studio Misr, financed by industrialist Talaat Harb, emerged as the leading Egyptian equivalent to Hollywood's major studios, a role the company retained for three decades.^[10]

Historians disagree in determining the beginning of cinema in Egypt. Some say in 1896, when the first film was watched in Egypt, while others date the beginning from 20 June 1907 with a short documentary film about the visit of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II to the Institute of Mursi Abul-Abbas in Alexandria. In 1917, the director Mohammed Karim established a production company in Alexandria. The company produced two films: Dead Flowers and Honor the Bedouin, which were shown in the city of Alexandria in early 1918.

Since then, more than 4,000 films have been produced in Egypt, three quarters of the total Arab production. Historian Samir Kassir notes (2004) that Misr Studios in particular, "despite their ups and downs, were to make Cairo the third capital of the world’s film industry, after Hollywood and Bombay but ahead of Italy’s Cinecittà."^[11] Egypt is the most productive country in the Middle East in the field of film production, and the one with the most developed media system.^[12]

The Golden Age

 

Poster for the Egyptian film Berlanti (1944).

The 1940s, 1950s and the 1960s are generally considered the golden age of Egyptian cinema. In the 1950s, Egypt's cinema industry was the world's third largest.^[13] As in the West, films responded to the popular imagination, with most falling into predictable genres (happy endings being the norm), and many actors making careers out of playing strongly typed parts. In the words of one critic, "If an Egyptian film intended for popular audiences lacked any of these prerequisites, it constituted a betrayal of the unwritten contract with the spectator, the results of which would manifest themselves in the box office."^[14]

In 1940,^[15] the entrepreneur and translator Anis Ebeid established "Anis Ebeid Films", as the first subtitling company in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, bringing hundreds of American and World movies to Egypt. Later he entered the movie distribution business too.^[16]

Political changes in Egypt after the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952 initially had little effect on Egyptian film. The Nasser regime sought control over the industry only after turning to socialism in 1961.^[17] By 1966, the Egyptian film industry had been nationalized. As with all matters in that period, diametrical opinions can be found about the cinema industry then. In the words of Ahmed Ramzi, a leading man of the era, "it went to the dogs".^[18] The "heavy government hand" that accompanied nationalization of Egyptian film "stifled innovative trends and sapped its dynamism".^[19] However, most of the 44 Egyptian films featuring in the best 100 Egyptian films list of all time were produced during that period. Notable titles includes; The Night of Counting The Years, Aghla Min Hayati, Cairo Station, My Wife, the Director General, Saladin the Victorious, The Postman, Back Again, Soft Hands, and The Land.

 

 

Salah Zulfikar and Soad Hosny, stars of Egyptian Cinema

By the 1970s, Egyptian films struck a balance between politics and entertainment. Films such as 1972's Khalli Balak min Zouzou (Watch out for Zouzou), starring "the Cinderella of Arab cinema", Soad Hosny, sought to balance politics and audience appeal. Zouzou integrated music, dance, and contemporary fashions into a story that balanced campus ferment with family melodrama. Notable 1970s titles include; Sunset and Sunrise, Chitchat on the Nile, The Other Man, The Bullet is Still in My Pocket, Karnak, The Guilty, I Want a Solution, Whom Should We Shoot?, Alexandria... Why?, Shafika and Metwali.^[20] Hassan Ramzi's 1975 Egyptian film Al-Rida’ al-Abyad (The White Gown) was released in the Soviet Union in 1976, selling 61 million tickets in the country. This made it the highest-grossing foreign film of the year and the seventh highest-grossing foreign film ever in the Soviet Union.^[21][22] This also made it the highest-grossing Egyptian film of all time, with its Soviet ticket sales surpassing the worldwide ticket sales of all other Egyptian films, achieving revenue over $28,700,000 in 1975.^[23]

Transitional period

The 1980s saw the Egyptian film industry in decline, however, the industry saw huge box-office jumps. In the 1980s, Egyptian cinema produced notable films, such as; The Shame, An Egyptian Story, The Bus Driver, The Peacock, The Innocent, The Collar and the Bracelet, A Moment of Weakness, The Wife of an Important Man, and Escape. In the 1990s, However, with the rise of what came to be called "contractor movies". Actor Khaled El Sawy has described these as films "where there is no story, no acting and no production quality of any kind... basic formula movies that aimed at making a quick buck." the number of films produced also declined: from nearly 100 films a year in the industry's prime to about a dozen in 1995. This lasted until summer 1997, when "Ismailia Rayeh Gayy" (translation: Ismailia back and forth) shocked the cinema industry, enjoying unparalleled success and large profits for the producers, introducing Mohamed Fouad (a famous singer) and Mohamed Henedi, then a rather unknown actor who later became the number one comedian star. Building on the success of that movie, several comedy films were released in the following years. The 1990s notable titles include; the industry presented notable films such as; Alexandria Again and Forever, War in the Land of Egypt, The Kit Kat, The Shepherd and the Women, Terrorism and Kebab, The Terrorist, Five-Star Thieves, Road to Eilat, The Emigrant, Nasser 56, Destiny, Land of Fear, and The City.

Present

Since mid 1990s, Egypt's cinema has gone in separate directions. Smaller art films attract some international attention, but sparse attendance at home. Popular films, often broad comedies such as What A Lie!, and the extremely profitable works of comedian Mohamed Saad, battle to hold audiences either drawn to Western films or, increasingly, wary of the perceived immorality of film.^[17]

A few productions, such as 2003's Sahar el Layali (Sleepless Nights), intertwined stories of four bourgeois couples^[24] and 2006's Imarat Yacoubian (The Yacoubian Building) bridge this divide through their combination of high artistic quality and popular appeal.

In 2006, the film Awkat Faragh (Leisure Time) was released. A social commentary on the decline of Egyptian youth, the film was produced on a low budget and had attendant low production values. The film, however, became a success. Its controversial subject matter, namely, the sexual undertones in today's society, was seen as confirmation that the industry was beginning to take risks.

A major challenge facing Egyptian and international scholars, students and fans of Egyptian film is the lack of resources in terms of published works, preserved and available copies of the films themselves, and development in Egypt of state and private institutions dedicated to the study and preservation of film. The Egyptian National Film Centre (ENFC), which theoretically holds copies of all films made after 1961, is according to one Egyptian film researcher, "far from being a library, houses piles of rusty cans containing positive copies."^[25]

The year 2007, however, saw a considerable spike in the number of Egyptian films made. In 1997, the number of Egyptian feature-length films created was 16; 10 years later, that number had risen to 40. Box office records have also risen significantly, as Egyptian films earned around $50 million.^{[citation needed]}

Festivals

Main article: Cairo International Film Festival

Since 1952, Cairo has held The Catholic Center film festival. It is the oldest film festival in the Middle East and Africa. It is specialized in Egyptian Cinema. Since 1976, Cairo has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.^[6] Other film festivals are held in Egypt including:

• Luxor African Film Festival
• Aswan International Women's Film Festival
• Cairo International Women's Film Festival
• Alexandria International Film Festival
• El Gouna Film Festival
• Cairo Cinema Days
• National Egyptian Film Festival
• Cairo Francophone Film Festival
• Catholic Center Film Festival
• Port Said Festival for Arab Films
• Film Association Festival for Egyptian Cinema
• Sharm El-Sheikh Film Festival
• Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts

Notable films

Title	Transliteration	Year	Director
My Father above the Tree^[26]	Abi foq al-Shagara	1969	Hussein Kamal
Afarit el-asphalt^[27]	Afarit el-asphalt	1996	Oussama Fawzi
Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves^[28]	Ali Baba wa Al Arbaeen harami	1942	Togo Mizrahi
I Am Free	Ana Horra	1959	Salah Abu Seif
Date Wine^[29]	Arak el-balah	1998	Radwan El-Kashef
The Land Of Fear^[30]	Ard El-Khof	1999	Daoud Abdel Sayed
Al-Go'a	Al-Go'a	1986	Ali Badrakhan
The Land^[31]	El Ard	1969	Youssef Chahine
The Sparrow^[32]	Al Asfour	1972	Youssef Chahine
The Return of the Prodigal Son^[33]	Awdat al ibn al dal	1976	Youssef Chahine
Sons of Egypt^[34]	Awlad Masr	1933	Togo Mizrahi
The Days of Sadat	Ayam El-Sadat	2001	Mohamed Khan
The Soft Hands	Al Ayde Al Na'ema	1963	Mahmoud Zulfikar
The Will^[35]	El Azima	1939	Kamal Selim
Dearer than My Life	Aghla Min Hayati	1965	Mahmoud Zulfikar
The Gate of Sun	Bab el shams	2004	Yousry Nasrallah
Cairo Station	Bab El-Hadid	1958	Youssef Chahine
I Love Cinema	Baheb el cima	2004	Oussama Fawzi
My Wife, the Director General	Mirati Modeer Aam	1966	Fatin Abdel Wahab
The Innocent	El Baree'	1988	Atef El-Tayeb
Barsoum Looking for a Job	Barsoum Yabhas Aen Wazifa	1923	Mohamed Bayoumi
A Beginning and an End	Bidaya wa Nihaya	1960	Salah Abu Seif
The Postman	Al Boustaguy	1968	Hussein Kamal
Fools Alley	Darb al-mahabil	1955	Tawfik Saleh
The Nightingale's prayer	Doaa al-Karawan	1959	Henry Barakat
Traffic Light	Eisharit morour	1995	Khairy Beshara
In the Land of Tutankhamun	Fi bilad Tout Ankh Amoun	1923	Mohamed Bayoumi
The Paradise of the Fallen Angels	Gannat al shayateen	1999	Oussama Fawzi
Money and Women	Mal wa Nessaa	1960	Hassan Al-Imam
The Island	El Geezera	2007	Sherif Arafa
The Flirtation of Girls	Ghazal Al Banat	1949	Anwar Wagdi
The Sin	Al Haram	1965	Henry Barakat
Chafika et Metwal	Shafika w Metwally	1978	Ali Badrakhan
Hassan and Marcus	Hassan wi Mor'os	2008	Ramy Emam
Life or Death	Haya aw Maut	1954	Kamal El Sheikh
The Choice	Al Ikhtiyar	1970	Youssef Chahine
Terrorism and Kebab	Al Irhab wal kabab	1992	Sherif Arafa
Alexandria... Why?	Iskanderija ... lih?	1978	Youssef Chahine
Karnak	Al Karnak	1975	Ali Badrakhan
The Kit Kat	El Kit Kat	1991	Daoud Abdel Sayed
The Lady's Puppet	Laabet el sitt	1946	Waley-ElDin Sameh
Leila	Laila	1927	Aziza Amir
Angel of Mercy	Malak al-Rahma	1946	Youssef Wahbi
The City^[36]	El Medina	1999	Yousry Nasrallah
The Night of Counting the Years	Al Mummia	1975	Shadi Abdel Salam
The Impossible	El Mustahil	1965	Hussein Kamal
Saladin The Victorious	El Nasser Salah El-Din	1963	Youssef Chahine
Yaaqubian building	Omaret yakobean	2006	Marwan Hamed
A Bullet in the Heart	Rossassa Fel Qalb	1944	Mohammed Karim
Return My Heart Back	Rudda Kalbi	1958	Ezz-El-Din Zulfikar
Salama is Okay	Salama fi khair	1938	Niazi Mostafa
Salamah	Sallamah	1945	Togo Mizrahi
The Bus Driver	Sawaq El-Autobis	1983	Atef El-Tayeb
Some of the Fear	Shey min el khouf	1969	Hussein Kamal
Struggle of the Heroes	Sira' Al Abtal	1962	Tawfik Saleh
Black Market	Suq al-Soda, Al	1945	Kamel El-Telmissany
Adrift on the Nile	Tharthara Fawq Al Neel	1971	Hussein Kamal
The Collar and the Bracelet	El Tooq wal Eswera	1986	Khairy Beshara
Adieu Bonaparte	Weda'an Bonapart	1985	Youssef Chahine
The Two Orphans^[37]	Al Yateematain	1949	Hassan Al Imam
The Sixth Day^[38]	Al Yawm al-Sadis	1986	Youssef Chahine
Happy Day^[39]	Yawm Saeed	1940	Mohammed Karim
Sweet Day, Bitter Day^[40]	Yom mor ... Yom helw	1988	Khairy Beshara
The Wife of an Important Man	Zawgat Ragol Mohim	1988	Mohamed Khan
Zeinab^[41]	Zainab	1950	Mohammed Karim
The Second Wife	El Zouga El Tania	1967	Salah Abu Seif
The Cursed Palace	'Al Qasr Al Malaoon	1962	Hassan Reda
The White Gown	Al-Rida’ al-Abyad	1975	Hassan Ramzi
People on the Top	Ahl el qema	1981	Ali Badrakhan
The Blazing Sun	Ṣira‘ Fī al-Wādī	1954	Youssef Chahine
Love and Tears	Hob wa Dumoo`	1955	Kamal El Sheikh

Notable figures

Directors

• Ahmed Badrakhan (1909–1969)
• Anwar Wagdi (1904–1955)
• Atef E-Taieb (1947–1995)
• Daoud Abdel Sayed (1946–)
• Ezz El-Dine Zulficar (1919–1963)
• Hassan El-Imam (1919–1988)
• Henry Barakat (1912–1997)
• Hussein Kamal (1932–2003)
• Jehane Noujaim (1974–)
• Karim Diaa El-Din (1946-2021)
• Khairy Beshara (1947–)
• Maher Sabry (1967–)
• Mahmoud Zulfikar (1914–1970)
• Marwan Hamed (1970–)
• Mohamed Khan (1942–2016)
• Mohammed Karim (1896–1972)
• Salah Abu Seif (1915–1996)
• Shady Abdel Salam (1930–1986)
• Sherif Arafa (1960–)
• Tamer El Said (1972–)
• Yousry Nasrallah (1952–)
• Youssef Chahine (1926–2008)
• Youssef Wahbi (1898–1982)

Cinematographers

• Wahid Farid (1919-1998)
• Tarek El-Telmissany (1950–)

Actors and actresses

• Abdelhalim Hafez (El Andaleeb) (1929–1977)
• Adel Emam (1940–)
• Ahmed El Sakka (1973–)
• Ahmed Ezz (1971–)
• Ahmed Helmy (1969–)
• Ahmed Mazhar (1917–2002)
• Ahmad Zaki (1949–2005)
• Amina Rizk (1910–2003)
• Anwar Wagdi (1904–1955)
• Elham Shahin (1961–)
• Emad Hamdy (1909–1984)
• Ezzat El Alaili (1934–2021)
• Ezz El-Dine Zulficar (1919–1963)
• Farid al-Atrash (1915–1974)
• Farid Shawky (1920–1998)
• Farouk al-Fishawy (1952–2019)
• Faten Hamama (1931–2015)
• Fuad Al Mohandes (El Ostaz) (1924–2006)
• Hend Rostom (1929–2011)
• Hussein El Imam (1951-2014)
• Hussein Fahmy (1940–)
• Ismail Yasin (1912–1972)
• Khaled Abol Naga (1966–)
• Laila Elwi (1962–)
• Layla Murad (1918–1995)
• Laila Taher (1942–)
• Lebleba (1945–)
• Madiha Yousri (1921–2018)
• Magda (1931–2020)
• Mahmoud Abdel Aziz (1946–2016)
• Mahmoud Yassin (1941–2020)
• Mahmoud Zulfikar (1914-1970)
• Mariam Fakhr Eddine (1933–2014)
• Mary Queeny (1913–2003)
• Mervat Amin (1946–)
• Mohamed Abdel Wahab (1902–1991)
• Mohamed Henedi (1965–)
• Mona Zaki (1976–)
• Mounira El Mahdeya (1885–1965)
• Nabila Ebeid (1945–)
• Nadia Al-Gindi (1946–)
• Nadia Lutfi (1937–2020)
• Nagat El-Sagheera (1938–)
• Naglaa Fathi (1951–)
• Naguib Al Rihani (1889–1949)
• Naima Akef (1932–1966)
• Nelly Mazloum (1929–2003)
• Nour El-Sherif (1946–2015)
• Omar Sharif (1932–2015)
• Poussi (1953–)
• Rushdy Abaza (1926–1980)
• Sabah (1921–2014)
• Safia El Emari (1949–)
• Salah Zulfikar (1926–1993)
• Samia Gamal (1924–1994)
• Samir Ghanem (1937–2021)
• Sanaa Gamil (1932–2002)
• Shadia (1929–2017)
• Shukry Sarhan (1925–1997)
• Shwikar (1939–2020)
• Soad Hosny (1943–2001)
• Soher Al Bably (1937–)
• Tahiya Carioca (1920–1999)
• Youssef Wahbi (1898–1982)
• Yousuf Shaaban (1931–2021)
• Yousra (1955–)
• Zaki Rostom (1903–1972)

Film critics

• Samir Farid (1943–2017)

Music Composers

• Ammar El Sherei (1948–2012)
• Ali Ismael (1922-1974)
• Fouad Al-Zahery (1916-1988)
• Moody El Imam (1957-)
• Omar Khairat (1948–present)
• Hesham Nazih (1972-present)

See also

•  Egypt portal
•  Film portal

• Arab cinema
• Culture of Egypt
• Lists of Egyptian films

In the press

• The best of Egyptian cinema, the best 15 best Egyptian films of all time

References

1. . UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
2. . UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
3. . UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
4. . UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
5. "Egyptian Cinema: Hollywood on the Nile - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
6. Cairo Film Festival information 2011-12-08 at the Wayback Machine.
7. Shafik, Viola (2007). Popular Egyptian Cinema: Gender, Class, and Nation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-977-416-053-0.
8. Houissa, Ali. "LibGuides: Middle Eastern & North African Cinema & Film: Egyptian Cinema & Film". guides.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
9. "The golden age of Egyptian cinema - Focus - Al-Ahram Weekly". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
10. Darwish, Mustafa, Dream Makers on the Nile: A Portrait of Egyptian Cinema, The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, 1998, Pp. 12–13.
11. Kassir, Samir (2013). Being Arab. Verso. ISBN 978-1-84467-280-6. OCLC 866820842.
12. "The golden age of Egyptian cinema - Focus - Al-Ahram Weekly". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
13. A.V. "The rise and fall of Egyptian Arabic". The Economist. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
14. Farid, Samir, "Lights, camera...retrospection" 2013-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Ahram Weekly, December 30, 1999
15. "LAFF - History of Cinema: Egypt". Archived from the original on 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
16. . Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
17. Farid, Samir, "An Egyptian Story" 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Ahram Weekly, November 23–29, 2006
18. Khairy, Khaireya, "Ahmed Ramzi: rendezvous at the snooker club" 2007-04-12 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Ahram Weekly, June 22, 2000
19. Farid, Samir, "Lights, camera... retrospection" Al-Ahram Weekly, December 30, 1999
20. Anis, Mouna, "Before the public gaze" 2003-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Ahram Weekly, June 28, 2001
21. Sergey Kudryavtsev (4 July 2006). "Зарубежные фильмы в советском кинопрокате". LiveJournal (in Russian).
22. "«Белое платье» (Al-Reda' Al-Abiad, 1973)". KinoPoisk (in Russian). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
23. "Советский кинопрокат – Империя наносит ответный удар". Krasnoyeznamya.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
24. , The New York Times, 2004
25. El-Assyouti, Mohamed, "Forgotten memories" 2013-05-13 at the Wayback Machine,Al-Ahram Weekly, September 2, 1999
26. "Abi foq al-Shagara". 17 February 1969 – via www.imdb.com.
27. "Afarit el-asphalt". 11 August 1996 – via www.imdb.com.
28. "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" – via www.imdb.com.
29. "Date Wine". 1 September 1999 – via www.imdb.com.
30. "Land of Fear". 14 March 2007 – via www.imdb.com.
31. "The Land". 4 August 2012 – via www.imdb.com.
32. "Al-asfour". 28 October 2007 – via www.imdb.com.
33. "Awdat al ibn al dal". 5 August 2012 – via www.imdb.com.
34. "Sons of Egypt" – via www.imdb.com.
35. "The Will". 6 November 1939 – via www.imdb.com.
36. "El Medina". 5 July 2000 – via www.imdb.com.
37. "The Two Orphans" – via www.imdb.com.
38. "Al-yawm al-Sadis". 3 December 1986 – via www.imdb.com.
39. "A Happy Day" – via www.imdb.com.
40. "Yom mor... yom helw" – via www.imdb.com.
41. "Zeinab". 18 May 2018 – via www.imdb.com.

Further reading

• Viola Shafik, Popular Egyptian Cinema: Gender, Class, and Nation, American University in Cairo Press, 2007, ISBN 978-977-416-053-0
• Walter Armbrust, "Political Film in Egypt" in: Josef Gugler (ed.) Film in the Middle East and North Africa: Creative Dissidence, University of Texas Press and American University in Cairo Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-292-72327-6, ISBN 978-9-774-16424-8, pp 228–251

External links

• African Media Program Comprehensive database of African media
• El-Cinema.com (an IMDb inspired Egyptian/Arabic movie database)