Lebanese cinema has garnered international recognition since the 1970s. One of the most prominent Lebanese filmmakers of that generation was Borhane Alaouié, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 80. Together with Maroun Baghdadi, Jan Shamoun (...)
Many films have been made about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since the 1948 Nakba, documentaries especially. With few exceptions, until the early 1990s they were produced by Palestinian or Arab companies. That is because the Palestinian cause (...)
Conspiracy and espionage have been featured in Egyptian television drama since the 1980s, reflecting the long-standing conflict with Israel which lasted from 1948 to 1979, though intelligence work went on after that. One popular series in that genre (...)
The new round of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF, 26 March-1 April), which closes today, was held under the slogan "Ten years of imagination".
During the past nine rounds, the opening ceremony featured a celebratory performance, be it music, (...)
The 10th round of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) opens tomorrow (Friday 26 March) at the Karnak Temple under the slogan "Ten Years of Imagination'' celebrating ten rounds of the festival, launched in 2012. The opening film will be This is (...)
Over the past 10 years, Egyptians had to deal with security issues many times, which made the authorities issue curfew regulations keeping people indoors mainly for the night for example. This happened, for example, during the 25 January Revolution (...)
On the second day of 2021, Egyptian cinema lost one of its prominent figures. Born in 1944 in Sharqiya, Hamed was not only a screenwriter but also a columnist for several magazines and newspapers. He graduated from the Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams (...)
It would be impossible to think about Arab cinema in 2010-2020 without taking into account the decade's political and economic circumstances. The global economy had barely survived the crisis of 2008-2009 when the Arab Spring broke out, leading to a (...)
It is clear the worldwide refugee crisis has become a preferred topic of film production companies in recent years. With both the refugee's memories of what is left behind and the difficulties they face in their new environment, the topic provides a (...)
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, the number of the Egyptian immigrants rose by 10.6 percent between 2017 and 2018. But this is a much older phenomenon, and a favourite subject for filmmakers like Daoud (...)
Pulp fiction has had a long and prosperous history in Arabic. In 1993, the Modern Arab Association publishing company started several series of genre novels for teenagers, one of which – a supernatural horror series entitled Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa (...)
As in the last three rounds, and despite the exceptional challenges of Covid, this year viewers left El Gouna Film Festival satisfied with a selection of strong an important films from all over the world. Yet, more than in previews rounds, perhaps, (...)
Covid-19 posed major challenges for El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) this year, with fewer films produced in 2020 the world over and the need for health precautions in the organisation of the event itself. Indeed some guests refused the invitation to (...)
Eid season has been commercial film release season almost since the start of the industry in Egypt, but this year the pandemic has made things difficult even after movie theatres reopened to 25 percent capacity a few weeks ago. Saheb Al-Maqam (The (...)
Since ancient Greece, no matter the medium, the age-old conflict between good and evil has not stopped haunting drama. The paradigm of a virtuous, selfless and brave hero against a malicious, selfish and careless villain underlies some of this (...)
When the Covid-19 death rate began to escalate rapidly in Italy, an Italian friend commented that what was happening all over the world was worse than a horror film. This grim remark sent me looking for films that deal with similar conditions. One (...)
The ninth Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) closed last Wednesday over a day ahead of schedule as LAFF president screenwriter Sayed Fouad and LAFF director filmmaker Azza Al-Houseiny announced the names of the competition winners in a press (...)
The Luxor African Film Festival will kick off tomorrow with the Egyptian film Sondouq Al-Donia (Wonder Box) directed by Emad Al-Bahat. The film, which is Al-Bahat's third long narrative after almost 13 years since his last film Al-Belyatsho (The (...)
Since 2012 the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) has become an important annual event not only for Egypt but for the whole continent as well. Headed by screenwriter Sayed Fouad and filmmaker Azza Al-Husseini as president and director, respectively, (...)
Since 1939 when Kamal Selim directed Al-Azima (The Will), Egyptian cinema has maintained its interest in socio-economic issues. This is what many critics have identified as realism, though it more often focused on the middle rather than the upper or (...)
“Speak, storyteller, tell us a story… Each one of us has a story in his heart.”
These are the lyrics of a beautiful song by the Algerian singer Souad Massi, titled Raoui (Storyteller), with which producer-filmmaker Marianne Khoury chooses to end of (...)
The 41st edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (20-29 November) saw much fascinating activity alongside the screening of 150 films from 63 countries, including the second Cairo Industry Days, CIFF's industry platform. The Cairo Industry (...)
The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is the oldest international film festival in the Arab World and the African continent. It was founded by the late journalist, writer and Egyptologist Kamal Al-Malakh in 1976. CIFF is accredited by the (...)
Whether or not they have a dramatic-artistic justification, sequels always capitalise on the commercial prospects of the original movie.
Five years ago Al-Fil Al-Azraq (The Blue Elephant) grossed LE8 million in the first week of its release. Its (...)
Though orientalist painters from the 18th and 19th centuries — Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835), David Roberts (1796-1864), Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904) and Gustav Bauernfeind (1848-1904), for example — were fascinated by (...)