| Najdat Anzour | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 Aleppo |
| Occupation | Television director |
Najdat Ismail Anzour is a Syrian television director of Circassian origins.[1][2] He is most known in the Arab world for his prolific TV series with a distinct style. His father Ismail Anzour, the director who made Taht sama'a Dimashq (Under Damascus Skies), Syria's first silent film, in 1932. Anzour graduated as a mechanical engineer, but credits his father with encouraging him to direct films. Initially, he created TV ads (numbering over 1,000), and later went into TV series, then films.
Contents |
Anzour directed over 20 TV series with a distinctive style. They are mostly set in an ancient era, in the Arabian desert or oases. The series has more realistic fighting scenes and lots of night shooting. They often tell the story of tribal conflicts, honor, romance, ...etc. Normally, his work is aired in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, where TV viewing is at its peak in the Arab world.
Some of his recent films are aired by the Dubai based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation and aim to end the terrorism committed by Muslim extremists. Although his work is supported by many Muslims, others object to his vilification of terrorist actions .
Oppression: Years of Torment (Arabic:الظلم : سنوات العذاب) is film whose production was due to start in 2008. The film is about the Libyan national hero Omar Al-Mokhtar, was written by Muammar al-Gaddafi, and was announced to be directed by Anzour. High-profile actors including Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Spacey and Ben Kingsley have been courted, albeit without any current confirmation.[3][4][5] At first Omar Sharif had been also announced to be in the cast playing Omar Al-Mokhtar. However, He withdrew later stating that he had other engagements as a pretext.[6] The shooting of the film was announced to start on the Italian Tremiti islands on 2008-04-14 for 6 days[7] , which is the same islands many Libyans where deported to during the Italian occupation of Libya. There are no recent indications, however, that filming ever commenced, and it appears that the project may be on hold.