Cinema of Egypt

The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing Egyptian Arabic-language film industry based in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Since 1976, Cairo has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.^[1] There is also another festival held in Alexandria. Of the more than 4,000 short and feature-length films made in Arabic-speaking countries since 1908, more than three-quarters were Egyptian.

History

Beginnings

While a limited number of silent films were made in Egypt from 1896 (with 1927's Layla 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.^[2]

Historians disagree in determining the beginning of cinema in Egypt, there are those who said that beginning in 1896 with the first film watched in Egypt, while others thought that the beginning of cinema in the June 20, 1907 with the 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 Mohamed 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 4000 films have been produced in Egypt, three quarters of the total Arab production. 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.

The Golden Age

The 1940s and 1950s are generally considered the golden age of Egyptian cinema. 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."^[3]

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.^[4] By 1966, the Egyptian film industry had been nationalized; in the words of Ahmed Ramzi, a leading man of the era, "it went to the dogs".^[5] The "heavy government hand" that accompanied nationalization of Egyptian film "stifled innovative trends and sapped its dynamism".^[4]

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", Suad Husni, sought to balance politics and audience appeal. Zouzou integrated music, dance, and contemporary fashions into a story that balanced campus ferment with family melodrama.^[6]

Transitional period

The late 1970s and 1980s saw the Egyptian film industry in decline, 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 movies a year in the industry's prime to about a dozen in 1995.^[7]

This lasted until summer 1997, with "Ismailia Rayeh Gayy" (translation: Ismailia back and forth). The comedy shocked the cinema industry enjoying unparalleled success and providing large profits for the producers, introducing Mohammed Fouad (a famous singer) and Mohammed Henedy a rather unknown actor who then became the number one comedian star. Building on the success of that movie, several comedy films were released in the following years

Present

Since the 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 the extremely profitable vehicles for comedian Mohamed Saad, battle to hold audiences either drawn to Western films or, increasingly, wary of the perceived immorality of film.^[4]

A few productions, such as 2003's Sahar el Layali (Sleepless Nights), intertwined stories of four bourgeois couples^[8] 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 (Free Times) was released. A social commentary on the decline of Egyptian youth, the film was produced on a low-budget and with the 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 finally 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."^[9]

The year 2007, however, saw a considerable spike in the number of Egyptian movies 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 movies earned around $50 million while American movies, by comparison, earned $10 million. The quality of movies has also improved both in terms of direction and plot.

Festivals

Since 1976, Cairo has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.^[10] There is also another festival held in Alexandria. Of the more than 4,000 short- and feature-length films made in Arabic-speaking countries since 1908, more than three-quarters were Egyptian.

Notable films

Notable figures

Directors

• Ahmed Badrakhan (1909–1969)
• Anwar Wagdi (1904–1955)
• Atef E-Taieb (19??–1995)
• Chadi Abdel Salam (1930–1986)
• Daoud Abdel Sayed (1946–present)
• Ezzel Dine Zulficar (1919–1963)
• Hassan Al Imam (1919–1988)
• Henry Barakat (1912–1997)
• Hussein Kamal (1932–2003)
• Jehane Noujaim (1974–present)
• Khairy Beshara (1947–present)
• Maher Sabry (1967–present)
• Mahmoud Zulfikar
• Marwan Hamed
• Mohamed Khan (1942–present)
• Mohammed Karim (1896–1972)
• Salah Abu Seif (1915–1996)
• Shady Abdel Salam (1930–1986)
• Sherif Arafa (1960–present)
• Yousry Nasrallah (1952–present)
• Youssef Chahine (1926–2008)
• Youssef Wahbi (1898–1982)

Cinematographers

• Tarek El-Telmissany

Actors

• Abd El Fatah El Quossary (1905–1965) عبد الفتاح القصري
• Abd El Moneim Ibrahim (1924–1987) عبد المنعم إبراهيم
• Abd El Moneim Madbouly (1921–2006) عبدالمنعم مدبولي
• Abd El Salam El Naboulsi (1899–1968) عبد السلام النابلسي
• Abdelhalim Hafez (El Andaleeb) (1929–1977) عبد الحليم حافظ
• Adel Emam (El Zaeem) (1940–present) عادل إمام
• Ahmed Helmy (1969–present) أحمد حلمي
• Ahmed Mazhar (1917–2002) أحمد مظهر
• Ahmad Zaki (1949-200?) أحمد زكي
• Aly El Kassar (1887–1957) علي الكسار
• Amina Rizk (1910–2003) أمينة رزق
• Anwar Wagdi (1904–1955) أنور وجدي
• Emad Hamdy (1909–1984) عماد حمدي
• Ezzel Dine Zulficar (1919–1963) عز الدين ذو الفقار
• Ezzat Abou Aouf (1948–present) عزت أبو عوف‎‎
• Farid al-Atrash (1915–1974) فريد الأطرش
• Farid Shawky (1920–1998) فريد شوقي
• Faten Hamama (1931–present) فاتن حمامة
• Fatma Rouchdi (1908–1996) فاطمة رشدي
• Fuad Al Mohandes (El Ostaz) (1924–2006) فؤاد المهندس
• Hend Rostom (1933–present)
• Hussein Fahmy (1940–present)
• Ismail Yasin (1915–1972)
• Khaled Abol Naga (1966–present)
• Layla Murad (1918–1995)
• Lebleba (1945–present)
• Mary Queeny (1913–2003)
• Mervat Amin (1946–present)
• Mohamed Abdel Wahab (1991–1991)
• Mounira El Mahdeya (1885–1965)
• Nabila Ebeid (1941–present)
• Nadia Lutfi (1937–present)
• Nahed Sherief (1942–1981) ناهد شريف
• Naguib Al Rihani (1889–1949)
• Naima Akef (1932–1966)
• Nelly Mazloum (1929–2003)
• Nelly (1949–present)
• Nour El-Sherif (1946–present)
• Omar Sharif (1932-prsent)
• Rushdy Abaza (1926–1980)
• Sabah (1921–present)
• Samia Gamal (1924–1994)
• Samir Sabry (1932–present)
• Sanaa Gamil (1932–2002) سناء جميل ‎
• Shadia (1929–present)
• Shukry Sarhan (1925–1997)
• Shwikar (1939–present)
• Souad Hosni (El Cindrella) (1944–2001)
• Tahiya Carioca(1920–1999)
• Youssef Wahbi (1898–1982)
• Youssra (1955–present)
• Zaki Rostom (1903–1972)
• Zouzou Nabil (1920–1996) زوزو نبيل

Film critics

• Samir Farid

See also

• Cinema of the world
• Culture of Egypt
• List of Egyptian films

In the press

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

References

External links

• Egyptian Cinema Profiles & Currently Now Showing Movies
• Egyptian film at the Internet Movie Database
• African Media Program Comprehensive database of African media
• ShooFeeTV
• El-Cinema.com (an imdb inspired Egyptian/Arabic movie database)
• Egycinemas.com (Currently Now Showing Movies in Egypt)