Youssef Chahine
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Youssef Chahine (Arabic: يوسف شاهين) (born January 25, 1926 in Alexandria, Egypt) is an Egyptian film director. He began his education at a friars' school, and then continued his studies at the prestigious Victoria College. After one year at Alexandria University, he moved to the United States to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.
After returning to Egypt, he turned his attention to directing. Cinematographer Alvise Orfanelli helped Chahine into the film business. His film debut was Baba Amin (1950): one year later, with Nile Boy (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film Festival. In 1970 he was awarded a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival. With The Sparrow (1973), in which he showed his political opinions after the Six Day War with Israel, he directed the first Egypt-Algeria coproduction. He won a Silver Bear in Berlin for Alexandria...Why? (1978), the first installment in what would prove to be an autobiographic quartet, completed with An Egyptian Story (1982), Alexandria, Again and Again (1990), and Alexandria...New York (2004). In one of his films The Sixth Day اليوم السادس, an adaptation of a novel written in French by Lebanese writer André Chedid, the famous French singer Dalida was the protagonist in the role of a poor Egyptian woman.
In 1992 Jacques Lassalle approached him to stage a piece of his choice for Comédie-Française: Chahine chose to adapt Albert Camus' Caligula, which proved hugely successful. The same year he started writing The Emigrant (1994), a story inspired by the Biblical character of Joseph, son of Jacob. This had long been a dream-project and he finally got to shoot it in 1994. This film created a controversy in Egypt between the enlightened wing and the fundamentalists who opposed the depiction of religious characters in films. In 1997, 46 years and 5 invitations later, his work was acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival with a lifetime achievement award on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the festival. He is also credited with discovering Omar Sharif, whose first starring role was in Chahine's film The Blazing Sun (1954). He also provided Nadia Lutfi with a very early role as a murder victim in Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station).
Controversy has followed many of his movies. The Sparrow attacks Egyptian corruption and blamed it for the defeat in the Six Day War. The autobiographical series makes frequent and explicit reference to bisexuality. In Alexandria.. Why?, set during World War II, an English soldier and an Egytpian man become lovers. In Alexandria.. Why?, the director has several male lovers, both real and imaginary. And Cairo Station, albeit a classic of Egyptian cinima, also shocked viewers both by the sympathy with which a "fallen woman" is depicted and by the violence with which she's killed.
[edit] Filmography
- Baba Amin (Papa Amin)- 1950 بابا أمين
- El mohareg el kebyr (The Big Clown) - المهرج الكبير
- Enta habyby (You're My Love) - إنت حبيبى
- Ibn al-Nil (Nile Boy) - 1951 إبن النيل
- Sira` fi al-Wadi (The Blazing Sun, Mortal Revenge)- 1954 صراع فى الوادى
- Sira` fi el-Minaa (Dark Waters)- 1956 صراع فى الميناء
- Salwa al fatah al saghyra allaty tokalem el abkar (Salwa the littile girl who talk to cows) - سلوى الفتاة الصغيرة التى تكلم الأبقار
- Bab al-Hadid (Cairo Station or Cairo Main Station)- 1958 باب الحديد
- Al Nasser Salah Ad-Din (The Victorious Saladin) - 1963 الناصر صلاح الدين
- Fagr youm gedyd (Dawn of a New Day) - 1964 فجر يوم جديد
- Al-Ard (The Land)- 1969 الأرض
- El Asfur (The Bird) - العصفور
- Al-Ekhtyiar (the Choice) - الإختيار
- Awdet el ebn el dal (Return of The Prodigal Son) - 1976 عودة الإبن الضال
- Iskandariyah... lih? (Alexandria... Why?)- 1978 إسكندرية... ليه؟
- Hadduta Misriyah (An Egyptian Story)- 1982 حدوتة مصرية
- Wadaan Bonabart (Adieu Bonaparte) - 1985 وداعا بونابرت
- al-Yawm al-Sadis (The Sixth Day) - 1987 اليوم السادس
- Iskandariyah Kaman wa Kaman (Alexandria Again and Forever)- 1990 إسكندرية كمان وكمان
- El kahera menawara be 2ahlalaha - القاهرة منورة بأهلها
- Al-Mohagir (The Emigrant)- 1994المهاجر
- Al-Massir (The Destiny) - 1997 المصير
- Al-Akhar (The Other) الآخر
- Sokoot Hansawwar (Silence, We're Rolling) سكوت ح نصور
- Iskandariyah-New York (Alexandria-New York) إسكندرية-نيويورك
- Heya Fawda (What a Mess!) هي فوضى (soon)
