Renowned filmmaker Mohamed Khan passed away on Tuesday at a hospital in Maadi after a sudden drop in his health at the age of 73; the funeral and prayers took place on the same day. Born in Cairo in 1942 to an Egyptian mother and a Pakistani father, Mohamed Hamed Hassan Khan studied directing and screenwriting in Egypt and at the London International Film School. On his return to Egypt he joined the script department of the General Egyptian Film Organisation. Together with Daoud Abdel-Sayed, Khairy Beshara and the late Atef Al-Tayeb, he is a pillar of the Eighties Generation and Egyptian New Realism, though perhaps the most prolific, accessible and popular among his peers. He is best known for Al-Hareef (The Street Player, 1983), which participated in the 13th Moscow International Film Festival, Zawgat Ragol Mohem (The Wife of an Important Man, 1987), starring Ahmed Zaki and Mervat Amin and Ahlam Hind wi Camilia (Dreams of Hind and Camilia, 1988), which the Bibliotheca Alexandrina includes in its 2007 100 landmarks in the history of the Egyptian cinema. Khan is survived by his wife, the screenwriter Wessam Soliman, who wrote three of his films – Banat Wust Al-Balad (Downtown Girls, 2005), Fi Shaaet Masr Al-Gedida (In a Heliopolis Apartment, 2007) and the recent Fatat Al-Masnaa (The Factory Girl, 2013) – as well as an artist son, Hassan, and a filmmaker daughter, Nadine. Khan was not granted the Egyptian nationality (by presidential decree) until 2014. A year later his memoir, Mokhreg Ala Al-Tareek (A Director's Journey), was published by Al-Kotob Khan. His last film, Abl Zahmet Al-Seif (Before the Summer Crowds), was premiered at the fifth Luxor African Film Festival earlier this year. *Darbet Shams (1978). Screened at Montreal Film Festival in 1979. Awarded the Cidalec Golden Award for first film at the Alexandria Film Festival in 1979, First Film Award at the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1979, Certificate of Merit for direction from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in 1981. *Al-Raghba (The Desire, 1980) *Al-Thaar (The Vengeance, 1980) *Taer Ala Al-Tareek (A Bird on the Road, 1981). Screened at Montreal, Sorento, Tashkent and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals in 1981 and 1982. Awarded the Jury Award at the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1982. *Maweid Ala Al-Ashaa (A Dinner Appointment, 1982) *Nos Arnab (Half a Million, 1982) *Al-Hareef (The Street Player, 1983). Screened at the Moscow, Berlin and Valencia Film Festivals in 1983 and 1984. Awarded Best Direction at the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1985. *Kharag wa Lam Yaoud (Gone and Never Came Back, 1984). Awarded the Silver Award at the Carthafe Film Festival in 1984. *Meshwar Omar (Omar's Journey, 1986). Screened at the Strasbourg, Valencia, Tashkent, Strasbourg and Paris Arab Film Festivals in 1986 and 1987. *Youssef and Zeinab (1986). Screened at the Strasbourg and Moscow Film Festivals in 1986 and 1987. *Awdet Mowaten (Return of a Citizen, 1986). Screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. Screened at the Montreal, Valencia, Bastia, Monpellier and Paris Arab Film Festivals between 1987 and 1991. *Zawget Ragol Mohem (The Wife of an Important Man, 1987). Awarded the Silver Award at the Damascus Film Festival in 1987. Screened in the official competition at the 15th Moscow International Film Festival in 1987 and the Montreal, Valencia, Tetouan, Digne, Istanbul and Nantes Film Festivals in 1987 and 1988. *Ahlam Hind wi Camilia (Dreams of Hind and Camilia, 1988). Awarded the Bronze Award at the Valencia Film Festival in 1988, Best Direction from Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1989, Best Film from the Catholic Film Centre in Cairo in 1989. Screened at the Tashkent, Carthage, Bahrain, Nantes and Tetouan Film Festivals between 1989 and 1995. *Supermarket (1990). Awarded Best Direction from the Egyptian Film Society Festival in 1991 and Best Film from the Egyptian National Film Festivals in 1991. Screened at the Munich and Montpellier Festivals, in 1991. *Fares Al-Madina (Knight of the City, 1991). Screened at the Valencia and Paris Arab Film Festivals in 1992. *Al-Gharaana (1992). Screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 1993. *Mr. Karate (1993) *Youm Harr Gedan (A Very Hot Day, 1994) *Ayam Al-Sadat (Days of Sadat, 2001) *Klephty (2003) *Banat Wust Al-Balad (Downtown Girls, 2005) *Fi Shaaet Masr Al-Gedida (In a Heliopolis Apartment, 2007) *Fatat Al-Masnaa (The Factory Girl, 2013) *Abl Zahmet Al-Seif (Before the Summer Crowds, 2016)
